Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard
by leonardo1123581321
Summary: The boundary between worlds is shattered but recovering. Hikari must cope with the loss of her beloved while helping the world recover from the devastation left in Lucemon's wake. But the war is far from the over! Light and shadow will dance once more time, in a battle for the survival of everything!
1. Another Day

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon: Tamers belong to Bandai. Clannad is a visual novel developed by Key, and adapted into an anime by Kyoto Animations. Takato's Light is a story idea belonging to creepingshadow. Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard is a fan-based narrative intended to promote the original Digimon franchise. This is a not for profit story.

**Author's Notes:** Hey guys! It's been a long twelve weeks and I'm sure you're all impatient to get reading so I'm not going to hold you back any longer feel free to read and enjoy. I'll just say the following before we go. I mentioned previously that Takato's Light had a single song I used for every chapter while I wrote it. For Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard, I wrote it listening to "Again" by YUI - otherwise known as the first opening theme to Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. Along with that, you must understand - going into this story - that with the end of Takato's Light, the boundary between worlds is still recovering. While causality corrects itself, you'll be seeing a lot of obscure characters from lesser known animes and mangas popping up here and there across the story. Finally, I want to say thanks to both Kells and creepingshadow for collaborating with me on this story. With that, I'd like to say sit back and enjoy the story.

I still have all these years ahead of me,

To just erase these feelings.

I want to go back and finish,

The things I've yet to finish.

I was supposed to be chasing after my ongoing dream,

Yet I faltered over others while walking this thin, winding path

It's not that I want to return to those days,

I'm searching for the sky I lost.

Don't make that sad face, As if you've fallen victim.

As if you want people to pity you!

Tears aren't the end of your sins!

You have to bear them painfully, forever!

Who are you waiting for in the maze of emotion,

Where you can't even see the exit?

I want to blurt it out more justly,

Just like how I wrote it in my white notebook!

What do you want to run from?

That thing called reality?

I just want to scream out,

I'm only living to fulfill my wish,

Can you hear me?

I can't take the safe way out of everything.

I don't even have a place to return to.

I'm always thankful for everyone's kindness,

That's why I want to become stronger!

I'm on the way!

This is reminding of the old days,

This pain is all right with me.

**Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard**

**Chapter 1: Another Day**

One Year After the Events of Takato's Light...

In a dimly lit bedroom of an apartment in upscale Odaiba, a young girl of no more than seventeen lies in her bed with her arms wrapped firmly around her pillow. Her silk, smooth brown hair ran down to her shoulders, complimenting the youthful beauty of her face. She had a slim build; her soft, warm body dressed in a set of pink pajamas that suited her. She snuggled against the pillow, pulling it close to her body while softly whispering, "Takato..."

She dreams of better times, an escape from the harshness of reality. A reality she faces each day with dread, knowing she could no longer hold and be held by the the one she loves. Her dreams were the only place where she could be able to spend time with the one she loved. Unfortunately, her time with him was cut short. The timer on her television went off, triggering the screen and tuning to the first channel it could find. Instantly, the news came on and the reporter began her news cast:

"Good morning, Tokyo! It's a beautiful morning outside, the time is 7 AM local time and the temperature is at a high of 84 degrees! We'll have a look at today's weather in just a moment but first, our top story this morning: DATA was deployed again, this time into Ichigaya to prevent the bio-emergence of more monsters from the Digital World. DATA quarantined six city blocks and worked with the Self Defense Force to safely round up the creatures - called digimon or digital monsters - and safely return them to their world. The area has been deemed an area of high dimensional instability and residents of the area are currently being relocated to new homes to prevent further incidence. Internationally, these continued dimensional fluxes have put pressure on the UN Security Council which struggles to deal with the crisis. As of today, there have been over one-hundred reported cases of cross-overs between worlds in the last month alone."

The girl grabbed the remote off her night stand and turned off the television, wishing it hadn't disturbed her from her night's sleep. She sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly and mentally preparing herself for the school day. With a long, sorrowful glance to her nightstand, she rested her eyes on a framed photo: her and her friends together in happier times, minus one person—the boy she loved, the person whose sacrifice saved all of existence even though the world would forever hate him for it.

Not wanting to relive painful memories, the girl pushed herself off the bed and walked over to her closet. She grabbed her school uniform and went into the bathroom. After a quick shower, she put on her uniform: a green blouse with a white collar, blue neckerchief, and a matching green skirt. Once she was done changing, stepped out to get her things ready for school. She packed her bag with her books and homework, and clipped on three odd devices.

The first belonged to her: a pink D3, a digivice with three functions: digital, detect, and discover. The second digivice belonged to him: a golden D-arc with a red strap. It was useless now, and served only to remind her of him. The third digivice was a mystery: he had simply appeared with it before his final battle against the greatest evil the digidestined had ever faced, giving the power to overcome it. Where it came from and how it worked was a mystery as no one had been able to activate since. It too had become little more than a second reminder of him.

The next several items she grabbed were not normal of the average high school girl. The first was a leather wallet with an ID and a silver badge inside inscribed with the letters: DATA. The second item was utility belt that went around her waist, with several small packs on both sides and a holster. She grabbed a radio next, placing it on the strap of her bag and clicking it on. The radio hummed to life and began to buzz with the usual radio traffic. Finally she grabbed a black Beretta M9 pistol from her desk and threw it into her holster, along with two extra magazines that she threw into the belt packs.

Once she was done, she went out of the room and into the dining room. As soon as she took her seat, her mother came out of the kitchen with a plate of eggs and fish and a bowl of rice, "Good morning honey."

"Morning," the girl cracked a tired yawn, "Breakfast looks good this morning."

"Thank you," her mother said, setting the plate and bowl down on the table, "Eat up, you don't want to be late for school."

"Where's dad?" the girl asked. She was already helping herself to some of the fish and rice, savoring the taste of warm tuna.

"Your father had to go to work early again," her mother answered, "Things have been so busy since the incident."

The Incident. That's what everyone called the devastation caused by the evil known as Lucemon. Lucemon was an angel digimon - the first digimon to be exact - entrusted with the duty to safeguard all of existence. But Lucemon became corrupted by his charge, declaring war on everything so that he could recreate it in his image. His followers, loyal to the end, sacrificed themselves so that Lucemon would have his chance. In the end, he was stopped by the combined might of her friends and the final blow was delivered by...him. Even though Lucemon was defeated, the damage had been done and the worlds were beyond repair. But he, the boy she loved, had absorbed Lucemon's power and used it to restore the natural order of things. But that power was too much for any person; using it destroyed him. He paid the ultimate price to save everything, and the world would forever hate him for it. But that was a memory she refused to revisit. It was painful enough the first time around, and she still hadn't fully gotten over it.

Once she was finished with breakfast, the girl put her dishes in the sink and kissed her mother goodbye. She locked the door behind her on her way out and took the elevator down to the first floor. Outside, her eyes were met with a blast from the sun just hanging over the horizon. She pressed the talk button on her radio and spoke into it, "This is Alpha-08, reporting in. Good morning Koushiro."

"Morning, Kari," a voice replied from the radio, "You're on standby today, but Director Mitsuo wants to see you in his office later."

"Alright, Koushiro," the girl answered, "I'm turning my radio off once I'm at the school. I missed classes all last week."

"I'll let the Director know when I see him," Koushiro replied. The girl released the talk button and continued on her way to school. Her name is Yagami Hikari, or Kari as her friends call her, and today was the closest thing she was going to get to a normal day.

...

As she made the long walk to her school, she passed an abandoned bakery with the words Matsuda Family Bakery hanging over it. The smashed windows hand been boarded up and a condemned sign hung on the boards, claiming the building had been seized by the government and its owners detained for questioning. Graffiti decorated the front of the store, dirty insults against the 'family that raised the terrorist'. The terrorist had been an unwilling victim of the incident. He temporarily came under the control of Lucemon and unknowingly perpetrated all kinds of horrible acts. When the he finally regained control, it was to find the world hated him for what he had done even though it was against his will. This was the same person who would later sacrifice himself for the world. The boy she loved, Matsuda Takato.

It was a secret the world would never know.

Of course the notice on the front of the building was a lie. Takato's parents weren't detained but relocated to a new town under false identities. Naturally, they had been told the truth of the matter and were devastated at the loss of their son. Even so, they had to go into hiding. The public at large was still embittered over the incident for which Takato had been unjustly blamed. Only she, her friends, and the highest government officials in the world knew the truth.

Why wasn't the public informed of the truth? Because they simply weren't ready for it.

The Digital World - a world existing parallel to the real world but inhabited by creatures made of data - had only recently become public knowledge. Most people still refused to accept the possibility that the Digital World could exist, despite the regular appearance of a digimon in the Real World and a human in the Digital World.

There also existed a third world, made of despair and anguish existing between the Digital World and Real World. As Hikari came to understand, this is the world where most of Lucemon's surviving followers fled after his fall. It had been kept secret so as not to scare the public with the knowledge that a world full of evil entities bent on the destruction of all things. It was known simply as the Dark Ocean.

And these were just the two other worlds she knew about. From what she recalled during the battles with Lucemon, more worlds could possibly exist.

But these were all stories for another time and Hikari had others things to worry about. For starters, she had missed all of her classes last week because of the number of crossovers that occurred. By her count, she responded to at least twelve crossovers - all instances of digimon suddenly appearing in the Real World. Because of that, she was behind in her studies and had to spend her weekend trying to catch up with her homework.

On top of that, she and her friends, were being alienated by the rest of the student body because of their friendship with Takato - the terrorist. It wasn't so bad at first, since the majority of the students chose to simply keep their distance. As time went on, some of the students became more aggressive and would occasionally corner one of them. Initially, it was just some words thrown back and forth but one day it grew into a fight between one of her friends and another student. Nobody can say with any certainty who threw the first punch. All anyone knew is that both of them got in trouble with the school's staff.

She hoped today wouldn't be one of those days, but her hopes died down once she noticed a group of girls in her grade talking to each other by the school gate. As she passed them by, she overheard them whispering, "It's her."

"I heard that they were dating."

"Figures that she'd like a terrorist."

"She's looking this way."

"Just ignore her."

Hikari chose to ignore their comments, mostly because she was used to hearing them on a daily basis. She thought that after a year, they would have something else to say other than the same old thing but that was of little consequence. Once she was on school grounds, she pressed the talk button on the radio, "This is Alpha-08, I'm killing the radio."

"Copy that 08. Report back in the afternoon. See you then," Koushiro's voice answered.

She shifted off her radio and placed it inside her back pack, but kept her Beretta at her side in case of an emergency. Once inside the school, she went to her locker to change from her tennis shoes to her indoor shoes. As she opened the locker door, a slip of paper fell out with the word 'bitch' written angrily on it. Hikari sighed and tossed the slip of paper into the garbage, annoyed that someone kept bothering to slip these notes into her locker. She was sure this wouldn't be the last time she heard from whoever was writing these notes.

With some free time before classes started, Hikari went down to the school courtyard. It was a large expanse in the heart of the school, lined with an assortment of trees and flowers. Scattered across the courtyard were several tables and chairs where students were either ate their breakfast or hung out with friends. In a far corner of the courtyard, away from the rest of the students, she found her friends sitting at the usual table. They were all dressed in school uniforms. The girls were dressed like Hikari, while the boys wore the school's male variant: a green blazer over a white shirt with grey slacks. What separated her friends from the other students were the utility belts they wore, each equipped with a radio and a Beretta secured into a holster They saw her coming and waved her over to meet them. She sat down between a blonde boy and dark haired girl, greeting them, "Good morning."

"Hey, Kari," a boy with spiky, brown hair sitting across the table replied. The feature which stood out most about him were the blue goggles on his head. His name is Motomiya Daisuke, a fervent lover of soccer with every intention of becoming the next superstar for Tokyo's team after he started a franchise of noodle carts.

Daisuke barely looked up at Hikari, not even bothering to flick his eyes open. His head rested on the table, his mouth hanging wide open with drool rolling down the side of his mouth. Hikari looked over at the boy beside her and asked, "What's wrong with Daisuke, TK?"

Takaishi Takeru, or TK to his friends, was one of Hikari's childhood friends. He was about Daisuke's height, with wavy blonde hair that had gotten longer over time. TK was the younger brother of rock celebrity Ishida Yamato, and was often the subject of harassment by his older brother's fans before the Incident. TK looked over at Daisuke and explained, "He's was on duty last night when the digimon bio-emerged. He said a Drimogemon freaked out, dug into the subway, and refused to come out. He tried to talk it out but it threw him head first against a wall. Subway trains were stalled for an hour before he finally convinced it to go back to the Digital World."

"Is he alright?" Hikari asked.

"Jou said he'd be fine," answered their youngest, Hida Iori. Iori was two years behind the others, but had grown considerably since she first met him. He was just a head shorter than everyone else, his appearance was misgiving for his demeanor. He was always the most serious in the group, often behaving like the older brother despite his age. By his side was a blue duffel bag filled with kendo equipment, for his practice after school, "Daisuke's taken worse hits to the head with that soccer ball."

"I don't think it would be too healthy for his brain, though," answered the last boy in the group, Ichijouji Ken. Ken had shoulder length, raven colored hair and a handsome face that many girls fell for. Were it not for his current girlfriend and the Incident, girls would be lining up just for the chance to talk to him.

"What brain?" laughed the only other girl in their group, earning laughs from the others. She had waist length hair dyed purple, and wore a pair of round glasses that magnified her eyes to appear larger than they actually were. Her name is Inoue Miyako, girlfriend of Ichijouji Ken and daughter of a local convenience shop owner.

"You guys suck," Daisuke grumbled, not even lifting his head to look at them.

"We're just kidding Daisuke," TK smiled, "You know that."

"Whatever," Daisuke yawned.

"Why don't you go home?" Hikari suggested, "You look like you're ready to pass out."

"I'll be fine. I just...need...a...few..." Daisuke trailed off, before letting loose a soft snore. At that moment, the bell rang signaling the start of the school day. Daisuke shot up immediately, cursed his luck, and ran off with his bag. The others were surprised at how fast Daisuke got to his feet, noting that was the fastest they'd ever seen him run anywhere, but quickly forgot as they went their separate ways to go to their classes.

Hikari took her time getting to her first class, an English Language class she was taking to help her with her work. It wasn't that she hated the class, it was more that she hated what the other students in her class were doing to her. A prime example presented itself when she walked into the classroom and found the other students were quick to fall silent.

She could feel their eyes on her as she walked over to her desk, quietly detesting her presence. Hikari ignored this and took a seat at her desk. It had been covered with all kinds of profanity written in English, which seemed to be the only reason anyone took the class. Interestingly, there seemed to be a new piece written on the top edge. Hikari ran her finger over each letter, trying to sound out how it would've been read, "M...O...T...H...E? Or is that an F?...R...F, again...U..."

"Good morning class," the teacher greeted his students as he walked in through the door. Everyone scrambled to their seats so the school day could begin.

...

When the school day had come to a close, Hikari and her friends walked together to the train station with the exception of Daisuke and Iori who had patrol duty that day. From there, they took the train to Shinjuku and got off on a stop several blocks away from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the home of the agency they worked for. It was a grand building, splitting off into two separate towers about halfway up. Through the front entrance was a large hall going from one end of the building to the other, with a small reception area and two guarded entrances to the side: one for visitors and the other for employees. Four men stood guard at each gate, dressed in black suits, bullet-resistant vests, and armed with M4 carbine assault rifles.

Hikari and the others disarmed themselves before passing through metal detectors, running their bags through x-ray machines, and showing the guards their IDs one by one. Afterwards, they were each patted down as an added measure of security before reclaiming their weapons. Once they were cleared to enter the building, they climbed into an elevator that would take them to the top floor of the building. At the top, they found the large command room that made up their organization's base. A large, oval room several hundred meters around. The ceiling was a large dome made up of thousands of monitors, all of them linked together to display a large map of the world. Red dots were scattered all across the map, each blinking on and off in succession. Hung from the center of the room were two chairs back to back, each with an attached keyboard. Two women sat on the seats and worked away furiously on their keyboards.

Computer terminals filled the room, in neat rows each with someone busy at work. Guards were scattered at various posts around the room, also dressed in black suits with red arm bands reading DATA.

DATA was the name of the organization, short for Digital Advisory and Tactical Association. On the surface, DATA was an international investigation bureau under the supervision of Interpol. They handled the cross-overs between the Digital World and Real World, returning everyone who was displaced to where they were supposed to be. Unofficially, DATA was so much more than that.

The majority of their ranks were made up of people like Hikari - Digidestined as they called themselves. They were specially chosen by the Digital World to act as guardians to both the Real and Digital worlds, defending the fragile balance between both worlds. The international headquarters was set up in Tokyo, Japan for a variety of reasons - the eight original Digidestined were all Japanese, Japan's government had already secretly amassed a wealth of knowledge concerning the Digital World, and developed a weapon to combat threats from the Digital World. With this lead on knowledge, no one could argue with putting DATA's headquarters in Japan.

Hikari separated from Ken, Miyako and Takeru to see their boss, while they went to their desks. Hikari went all the way around to the other side of the room, to a large glass door with the words scrawled in gold reading:

Mitsuo Yamaki

Director

Digital Advisory and Tactical Association

Through the door, Hikari could see a large oak desk with a computer screen and keyboard on one side, and a stack of papers on the other. Two chairs sat in front of the desk while sitting behind the desk was a blonde haired, middle aged man dressed in a white collared shirt whose sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, a pair of black slack and a blue tie. He was talking animatedly to his computer, completely unaware of what was going on. Hikari knocked on the door and he waved her in. Pushing the door open, Hikari heard a familiar voice say, "I'm just wrapping up a few things here."

"Hold on. Perfect timing, Yagami," Yamaki said, motioning for her to come around to the other side of the desk. Hikari pulled one of Yamaki's chairs with her and took a seat beside. Looking at the screen, she a man staring back at them. Behind him were trees and several anthropomorphic geckos with brass horns on their heads walking back and forth. The man had wild brown hair that shot up like flames, a stark contrast to the business suit he was wearing. Hikari recognized him instantly as her older brother, Yagami Taichi or Tai to those closest to him. She hadn't heard from him for the last six months, because he had been busy working on something in the Digital World. Something he refused to talk about under the grounds that it was top secret. A smile appeared on his face once he saw his sister, "Hey Kari."

"Hi, Tai," Hikari smiled widely, "Where are you right now?"

"Gekomon Village," Taichi replied, "I'm wrapping up a few things here before the big day tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" Hikari looked between Taichi and Yamaki for an answer.

"That's top secret for now," Taichi said in a matter-of-fact tone, earning him an annoyed sigh from his sister, "Anyway, have Yamato and Sora arrived at America yet?"

Yamaki looked at his watch and smiled, "They should be arriving in New York City about now. We're waiting for them to call before we set up a digi-port."

"That's good," Taichi breathed a sigh of relief. Hikari looked between the two again, wondering if whatever Taichi was doing was related to New York in anyway. There was nothing going on in New York as far as she knew, granted she didn't watch much news.

"Do you have your speech prepared?" Yamaki asked, his tone growing more serious, "It's important that everything goes smoothly and it would look bad if you go up there without a-"

"I've already sent it to you," Taichi replied quickly, "I scrapped it and started over a couple of times, but I think I've got something that works."

"Alright, I'll review it and send you some notes afterwards," Yamaki stated, "In the mean time, rehearse that speech a little bit. I'll contact you again when we've set up a digiport."

"Understood," Taichi nodded. The computer window shrank away into the desktop, resulting in Yamaki quickly switching off the screen to hide any classified information. Yamaki stood up to adjust the blinds to his glass door, making sure nothing could be seen from the other side and returned to his seat. Hikari returned her chair back to the other side of the desk, and sat back down, "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes," Yamaki nodded, "I just wanted to make sure everything was alright with you."

"Everything's fine, sir," Hikari replied to her superior, "May I ask what the concern is, sir?"

"Well, it's been a year to the day since," Yamaki fell silent, as if wondering what words to choose what he planned on saying, "Matsuda...passed away. And it's pretty obvious that you two were...close."

"I...know," Hikari answered quietly, her gaze falling downward. She found it hard to believe that it had only been a year since the Incident occurred. Yet to her, it seemed to have been an eternity - an eternity of his memory forever burned into her heart. She yearned to see his face just one more time, to hold and be held by him - even if it were just for a moment. A moment she knew would never come. She had spent enough time crying over it though, and knew tears weren't going to bring him back. He would not have wanted her to shed tears over him - his sacrifice.

"As long as you're alright, you can stay on active duty," Yamaki stated, "All the same, I'm going to keep one of the other digi...whatever you guys call yourselves assigned to you so that we can keep an eye on you."

"Okay, sir," Hikari nodded.

"Dismissed," Yamaki waved her away. Hikari stood up from her seat, saluted her superior and walked out of his office. Outside, she ran into a girl her age with red brown hair tied into a pony tail at the side with a green ribbon. She wore white blouse beneath a gray blazer and gray skirt with a white trim. She had the same equipment on her uniform as Hikari, as well as a yellow D-arc hooked up beside her pistol. She carried a file full of document in her hands and seemed to be in a rush, but stopped upon seeing Hikari, "Hi, Kari."

"Hey, Jeri," Hikari greeted her. Her name was Katou Jeri, a close friend of Hikari's and Takato's ex-girlfriend. There had been plenty of tension initially between the two, especially concerning Takato, but the two had learned to get along since then, "Where are you off to?"

"Dropping off a report on last night's bio-emergence," Jeri sighed, "Is Daisuke alright? He took a pretty hard hit last night."

"Yeah, he looked alright this morning, although he was tired," Hikari answered, "So were you there last night?"

"Unfortunately," Jeri frowned, "Drimogemon, a bunch of Gotsumon, a Golemon, a Minotarumon, and that couple that went missing a month ago all turned up. The couple was really freaked out - apparently they were transported to the Digital World and were fighting for their lives the whole time."

"What happened to them?" Hikari asked curiously.

"We brought the digimon back to the Digital World and took the couple to a nearby hospital so we could keep an eye on them," Jeri explained, "Physically, they're fine; a little malnourished but no injuries from what we can tell. They were transferred to Matsuzawa Hospital afterwards. Honestly, I think the Digital World messed them up a little bit."

"I'd imagine so," Hikari commented, "Spending a month in another world, with no idea where you are or how to get home. That's got to be scary."

"Yeah. What were you doing in Yamaki's office? Is everything alright?"

"He just wanted to talk."

"About what?" Jeri asked quietly, a worried tone in her voice. Hikari frowned, sheepishly answering, "About...Takato. It's been a year since..."

Before Hikari could finish, she found Jeri had already wrapped her arms around her, "I know. Are you alright?"

"I'm...fine. Thanks for worrying about me," Hikari stated calmly to Jeri. Jeri let Hikari go and smiled warmly at her, "I'm glad you're alright. Anyway, I've got to drop off this report. I'll see you around."

Jeri rushed off again, leaving Hikari to return to her desk. It was in a room on the far side of the building - much smaller than the central room but still larger than Yamaki's office. The room was lined with desks organized in neat rows. On each desk was a desktop computer and piles of papers. Hikari took a seat at her desk, located between Takeru's and Miyako's, and set down her bag. She started her homework since she had nothing else to do.

...

The Tokyo Metropolitan Matsuzawa Hospital was renowned for being one of the best mental health facilities in the world. Founded in 1879, it was the oldest psychological hospital in Japan with a maximum capacity of 1005 patients. In the receiving ward of the hospital, where patients were kept before the staff could determine which ward to send them, a young couple was kept in the same room. The man, tall but skinny for a 35 year old with scars along his body and dressed in only a patient gown, was in the same bed as his wife, a frail thing of only 36 whose hair was a disheveled mess. The wife cried into her husband's shoulder, weeping tears of joy. Both were glad that their ordeal was finally over; they had awoken from the nightmare that the DATA agents called the Digital World. They had absolutely no intention of returning to that place anytime soon. However, they knew it would forever haunt them in their nightmares.

They wanted to see their children, who had been in the custody of their grandfather - the husband's father. Unfortunately, the facility had a policy against visitation while patients were still in receiving so they would have to wait until they were transferred to wherever the hospital planned on taking them. It was painful enough for them to spend a month worrying that their children were alright, but to be denied the right to see them over a stupid rule was beyond cruel. All they could do was wait and hope they could see their children soon.

As they lay in each other's arms, a dark mist crept up over the sheets and wrapped the room in its icy grip. Fear paralyzed the couple, for they had seen this mist before and knew it could only mean one thing. One of those monsters would be appearing soon, maybe to take them back to the Digital World. They watched in horror as the mist slowly gathered itself at the foot of their bed and took form, taking the shape of a body with glowing red eyes.

"What does it want, Tomoya?" the wife asked her husband.

"I don't know, Nagisa," the husband replied, moving his wife behind him and tightening his fists. He growled at the body of darkness, "Whatever you are, leave us alone!"

The dark entity moved to the side of the bed, eyeing the husband and wife hungrily. A terrifying grin appeared on its face and it laughed at the couple. Annoyed with the entity's laughter, Keitaro took a swing at it only for his fist to go right through the entity. Tomoya fell through the other side and hit the wall. He scrambled to his feet and faced the entity without hesitation, only for it to pin him against the wall with an outstretched arm.

"Tomo-!" Nagisa cried out, only to have the entity grab her as well and pin her against the opposite wall.

"Nagi...sa!" Tomoya reached out to his wife, knowing that would be useless. The entity looked between the two of them and hissed with a rattling voice, "Yagami...New York..."

"What?" Tomoya asked the entity. It responded by tightening its grip on both their bodies, causing them to wail out in pain.

Just then, a knock came at the door followed by one of the nurse's asking, "Is everything alright in there? Mr. and Mrs. Okazaki? Hello?"

Before the door could open, the entity split itself into two clouds of mist. One cloud entered the body of Okazaki Tomoya, while the other entered the body of Okazaki Nagisa. They both screamed out in horror as they felt the entity assume control over them. Their bodies hovered for a moment in the air, enveloped in a bright light. With their screams, the door flew wide open and a young nurse dressed in blue scrubs ran in to find...

Nothing.

...

**Author's Notes:** Hey guys! So how was it? I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter of the sequel. I'll be sticking with the twelve week schedule from now on simply because it gives me more time to think and decide how to handle each story. Plus it will allow me to write more chapters more frequently. My next update will be in twelve weeks on Friday, November 4th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and analysis into the next chapter of the story. If you are attending Northern Illinois University and would like to chat, just PM me and we can meet face to face! Or add me on the Facebook or the Playstation Network (PSN ID leo112358). Until next time, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out!


	2. Taichi's Address

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon: Tamers belong to Bandai. Kino's Journey is a light novel written by Keichi Sigsawa. Takato's Light is a story idea belonging to creepingshadow. Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard is a fan-based narrative intended to promote the original Digimon franchise. This is a not for profit story.

**Author's Notes:** Hey! Wow! What a fast update! Naw, I'm kidding. I had this chapter written out immediately after I wrote the first chapter because I wanted to give you guys a little more to go on than just the downer first chapter. Here's the second chapter of Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard!

**Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard**

**Chapter 2: Taichi's Address**

The Beekman Tower Hotel was a tall brick building situated near the East River of Manhattan. It was also the accommodation for a young man with shoulder length blonde hair and a woman of the same age with slightly shorter red hair. They were both Japanese in appearance, with slightly tanned skin. The man dressed in a black turtle neck sweater, jeans, and tennis shoes while the woman was dressed in a blue sweater and white pants and a pair of black loafers. Both of them wore utility belts equipped with 9mm Berettas and their own digivices. Their names were Ishida Yamato and Takenouchi Sora, respectively. The two had been dating for many years now and found it difficult to spend too much time apart because of their occupations. To that end Sora would frequently accompany Yamato on his trips while working on new clothing designs.

Ishida's band, The Teenage Wolves, was a breakout success internationally and was currently in the middle of its World Tour. Today, or the day after tomorrow to be more accurate, Yamato and his band would be playing live in Central Park. At least that was the official reason Yamato was here. Unofficially, the two were DATA agents sent to New York to set up a digital gate between the Real World and Digital World. They weren't told why for security purposes and were instructed just to call the Director as soon as they arrived for further details.

Once in their room, Yamato locked the door behind him and peered through the peep hole to make sure no one outside could listen in. He then quickly inspected the room for any bugs that would spy in on them. It was one of the hazards of being both an international celebrity and an agent for a well known organization. It didn't take long, for the room was small, consisting of two queen sized beds separated by a fridge that doubled as a night stand and a bathroom off to the side. Once he was sure the area was secure, Yamato set down his travel bag and a brief case. The brief case had been handed to him personally by the Director; its contents were a laptop computer and a cell phone. On the surface, both appeared broken but really used a new kind of secure communication technology. It was something about using the Digital World as its primary medium as opposed to standard phone lines or satellites. Yamato didn't really understand it, not that he cared.

Yamato took out the cell phone first, a simple flip-up model with an extendable antenna. He was shown the number to dial only once and had to remember it from heart. He pressed the numbers sequentially and heard the line ring. After a few moments, someone on the other end picked up and greeted him, "Digi digi."

"Mon mon," Yamato replied. The voice on the other end let out a sigh of relief, "Good to see you're both there in one piece."

"Yeah, so what's so important that it has to be kept secret, Director Mitsuo?" Yamato asked.

"Sorry, that's still classified," Yamaki explained unapologetically, "Have you set up the Digiport yet?"

Yamato looked over his shoulder to see Sora already working on the laptop and typing away at it furiously. Once she was done, she turned it to Yamato to show the screen. The screen displayed an image of a metal frame enclosing a bright red light. Immediately, the red light flashed and was replaced by the image of a forest. Yamato nodded to Sora and said, "Yeah, it's set up."

"Okay, now set it to this code: Golf Echo Kilo Oscar Mike Oscar November Victor India Lima Lima Alpha Golf Echo."

Yamato repeated the code to Sora who quickly input them into the computer. Once she was done, there was a bright flash and the image of a forest was replaced by an image of a small village.

"Confirm?"

"Confirm - Golf Echo Kilo Oscar Mike Oscar November Victor India Lima Lima Alpha Golf Echo," Yamato repeated back into the phone. There was another sigh from Yamaki's end, "Okay hold on."

The line went silent for a full minute before Yamato heard Yamaki's voice again, "Okay we're clear. The VIP will go through in a second."

At that, there was a loud whooshing noise followed by a flash of light that enveloped the room. Once the light cleared, Yamato and Sora found there were two more people in the room. Or more accurately, a person and a digimon. A man with long hair that shot up like flames dressed in a blue business suit holding a briefcase and an a small orange dinosaur dressed in a similar manner. Slung around the man's waist was a utility belt equipped with a digivice similar to the Yamato and Sora's. Notably, he didn't have a hand gun on him. The two greeted Yamato and Sora casually, "Hey guys, how've you been?"

"Good to see you!" Sora embraced the two in a right hug. Only the digimon returned the hug.

"Hey," Yamato waved casually, "VIP has arrived."

"Good, I have a team of agents coming to pick up the VIP," Yamaki, "They'll move the VIP to a secure location. Your orders are to protect the VIP until they arrive."

"Yes sir," Yamato answered. The line died immediately afterwards and Yamato hung up the phone. After he put away the phone and laptop, he turned to face the VIP, "How've you been, Tai?"

"Tired, but I can't complain," Taichi shrugged, repeating the same excuse he always did. He set his brief case down on the floor and sat down on one of the beds. With a tired yawn, Taichi checked his watch before reaching into his coat to pull out a carton of cigarettes, "Do you guys mind?"

"Smoke by the window," Yamato stated plainly. Taichi nodded and opened the nearest window, leaning out of it and lighting his cigarette. He took a quick puff of smoke and blew it out into the New York air. Through the window, Yamato could see the night skies of New York. In the distance, Yamato could see the lights of Queens reflected into the East River. It wasn't an overwhelming site, given most of the more famous sights were in the opposite direction, but it was beautiful all the same. With a genuinely casual but interested voice, Taichi asked, "How's your band been, Yamato?"

"Great," Yamato said, "We have a concert in two days. We have practice until noon tomorrow and after that we're going to go sightseeing. You want to come along?"

"Can't," Taichi frowned, taking another puff on his cigarette, "I have an important meeting to get to."

"What's been going on anyway?" Yamato asked curiously, "We barely heard from you after the battle with Lucemon. What have you been doing?"

"Can't talk about it," Taichi said, "I've been working on it for a year. Granted, it really just built up off my senior project from Tokyo University so there wasn't that much work left to do. All the same, it's top secret."

"Well, have you spoken to Kari at least? She really worries about you!" Sora added. Taichi took another puff of his cigarette before throwing it out the window and explaining, "Yeah, I spoke with her a while ago. She seemed alright."

"You do know what today is, right?" Sora asked him. Taichi looked out the window into the night. After a long silence, Taichi crossed his arms and explained, "Yeah, I know. Hikari will be fine. She'll get through it. I know she will."

"Agumon, you can tell us what he's been up to, right?" Yamato asked the small dinosaur, who looked up at him with a frown, "Sorry, Tai doesn't even tell me what he's been up to."

Just then, there was a knock at the door and Sora went to answer it. She looked through the peep hole to see two people. A woman with short dark hair, dressed in a black business suit wearing a pair of shades. Beside her was a slightly taller man with shoulder length black hair dressed in the same black suit. The woman wore a utility belt from which hung an antique Colt 1851 revolver while the man slung a katana over his shoulder. Sora unholstered her pistol and looked at Yamato to do the same. Yamato pushed Taichi and Agumon to the floor and pointed his gun at the door, giving Sora a nod. Sora nodded back and recited the challenge she had been taught, "Rising."

"Sun," the woman said back. Sora replaced her pistol in its holster and relaxed a bit, opening the door so they could come in. The two agents came in and pulled out their DATA badges, "Agents Kino and Shizu. We're here for the VIP."

"That's me," Taichi took off his coat and threw it over Agumon before taking up his briefcase, "It was great seeing you guys. We should catch up after your concert, Yamato. I'll tell you guys all about what I've been doing then."

"We'll hold you to that," Yamato replied. A tired smile adorned Taichi's face as he and Agumon left the room with Kino and Shizu. Shizu closed the door behind them, leaving Yamato and Sora alone to wonder why Taichi was so secretive.

...

The following day, Hikari went with Daisuke and Miyako to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building after school. From there, they went to the Digital World on a Search and Rescue mission. Their mission brief was short - the couple that came back from the Digital World the other day disappeared from their hospital. A DATA team sent to the hospital found evidence of a dimensional weak point and concluded the couple was unexpectedly transported back to the Digital World. They were going together so they could cover more ground.

It was a chance for her to see the Digital World again, and to see her partner Gatomon. Gatomon was a bipedal feline who wore a pair of yellow gloves with tiger marks over her arms. Her most distinguishing feature were big blue eyes and striped tail which had a golden ring wrapped around it. As she searched the forests of the Digital World near Yokomon Village, she took the chance to listen to some new music albums she bought but didn't have time to because of school and work. She listened intently to the song through her mp3 player, scanning the area around her for some sign of their appearance.

I wake in the morning, tired of sleeping. Get in the shower and make my bed alone. I put on my make up, talk in to the mirror. Ready for a new day without you. And I walk steady on my feet, I talk, my voice obeys me. I go out at night, sleep without the lights. And I do all the things I have to, keeping you off my mind. When I think I'll be alright, I am always wrong cause: (My Hands) Don't want to start again, (My Hands) No they don't want to understand, (My Hands) They just shake and try to break whatever peace I may find, (My Hands) They only agree to hold, (Your Hands) And they don't want to be without, (Your Hands) And the will not let me go, No they will not let me go!

Hikari felt her radio buzz and paused her music to check in with the dispatch, "Dispatch, repeat last transmission, over."

"Alpha-08, what is your status?"

"Area is clear, continuing to the next sector," Hikari answered, noting that it wasn't Koushiro who answered. It was odd to hear someone other than Koushiro relaying orders from command to the other agents. She couldn't help but wonder what the boy was up to.

"Copy that. Bravo-01, check in," the dispatcher said. It wasn't Koushiro today, which made Hikari wonder where he was. Over the radio, Daisuke and Miyako also came on.

"This is Bravo-01, my sector's clean. Moving on to the next area."

"Copy that. Bravo-02, check in."

"This is Bravo-02, I've got nothing up here. Halsemon and I are going to circle around and give the area another sweep before we move on."

"Copy that. Hold on...And you're sure," the dispatcher was apparently talking to someone else, "Straight from the top...Okay. Alpha-08, I've got a message straight from the Director, he wants you to report to his office asap."

"Understood," Hikari answered. She turned to her Digimon partner and asked, "Will you be alright, searching the area by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Gatomon nodded.

"Alright, take care of yourself," Hikari waved as she parted from her partner. Hikari went to the nearest digital gate. In the Real World, these could be any computer. In the Digital World, it was televisions that could be found every few miles. Once she was in the Real World, she proceeded to Yamaki's office to find a rare sight before her. Yamaki's sunglasses were off, his necktie was loose, and his shirt was slightly unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up. She had only seen him like this one other time, a year ago when he had been killed. Unfortunately, he had no memory of his death because Takato restored the worlds to their natural state just before Lucemon appeared. No one in the Real World had any memory of what happened between The Incident and the final battle with Lucemon.

Hikari knocked on the glass door to get his attention and he immediately straightened out his clothing. Before he put on his shades, Hikari noticed there were bags under his eyes. He left his office and motioned for her to follow him. With a tired voice, Yamaki said, "Come on, there's something you might like to see."

"Did you go home last night?" Hikari asked him. He shook his head and explained, "I had some important arrangements to take care of."

"Like what?"

"That's what I'm going to show you," Yamaki said. He led the way to a darkened conference room whose occupants watched a screen with heavy anticipation. A projector sat on the middle of the table, displaying an image of what looked like a grand hall crowded with people who anxiously observed a podium on a stage. Behind the stage was the golden symbol of the United Nations, while a marquee along the bottom of the screen read: Live! United Nations congregation awaits a report from Digital Advisory and Tactical Association concerning the number of dimensional fluxes, as well as an outlined plan to deal with the crisis. Hikari immediately recalled her brother mentioning something important he would be doing today and asked, "Is this what Tai's been doing?"

"Just watch," Yamaki pointed at the screen as he took a seat, "This is live, right Koushiro?"

Hikari took a seat at the end of the table and noticed Koushiro was working away on his laptop, which was connected to the projector. He was a short, red haired man who served as both the dispatch and the technical expert for DATA. Koushiro nodded and explained, "The video feed's coming in on a secure connection and is live. The rest of the world will get a five minute delay, but we'll see exactly what's happening as it happens."

"Good," Yamaki said. Hikari took the chance to look around the room and noticed several high ranking officials were here; the prime minister of Japan, the Emperor, several members of the National Diet, and a few others she didn't recognize. Amidst all these important people, Hikari felt quite out of place. Not like a fish out of water, more like a fish swimming with whales - whales that would eat her alive. Hikari felt every fiber in her being tense up when the Prime Minister asked who she was and why she was here.

"Relax," she heard Koushiro say, "They're important people, but they're people all the same."

"I guess," Hikari muttered, "It's kind of hard to believe that I'm actually sitting in the same room as them."

Before Koushiro could reply, the sound of applause erupted from the screen. Everyone in the room watched as a woman took the stage and silenced the applauding audience, "This meeting of the United Nations General Assembly is called to order. There is one topic on today's schedule: A representative from the Digital Advisory and Tactical Association will discuss the nature of the dimensional fluxes as well as outline their plans to deal with the crisis. I would now like to invite the DATA's Chief of Digital World Relations to the stage. Please welcome Yagami Taichi."

"I wasn't aware DATA had anyone with that title," the Prime Minister said to Yamaki. Yamaki nodded his head with an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry. It was important that nobody knew about this until we were ready to unveil it."

"That sounds an awful lot like a power play."

"With all due respect, Mr. Prime Minster, we answer to Interpol."

"And Interpol answers to us."

"Interpol answers to everyone."

The woman stepped away from the podium and took a seat just as Hikari saw her older brother walk into frame. He was accompanied by his partner, a small orange dinosaur dressed in a blue suit named Agumon. There was some brief snickering at the sight of Tai, not that Hikari could blame anyone. His fiery, brown hair which always looked like a mess made it difficult to take him seriously. Even the Prime Minister seemed irritated, "That's the Chief of Digital World Relations?"

"Yes," Yamaki answered. The Prime Minister scoffed, "Please tell me this is a joke."

"Just watch," Yamaki pointed at the screen. Taichi stood behind the podium and took a moment to gaze out at the audience before him. Hikari saw the look of fear in his eyes and immediately worried something was wrong. She never knew her brother to have either fear or hesitation, so seeing that expression on his face came as a shock to her.

"Come on Tai," Hikari quietly muttered.

"Dammit Yagami, don't choke on me now," Yamaki said quietly to no one in particular. Taichi stared out blankly at his audience for what must have been the longest time before he looked down at the podium and massaged his throat. Afterwards he said, "Ladies and gentlemen; leaders of the world. The last year has been a difficult time for all of us. We have each come to know loss and suffering as a result of the recent instabilities. Many out there say that the memory of these days will be written entirely in blood. That these cross-overs between the Digital and Real World are acts of aggression by a foreign menace seeking to overtake our world, and should be met with hostility."

"I am here to inform you, that is not the case. Despite their name, Digital Monsters are anything but monsters. They are living, breathing beings with the same capacity for emotion and intelligent thought as any human who simply want to live their lives in peace. Many of them are just as frightened by the thought of entering our world as we are of entering theirs. As things stand, they are no more responsible for the rifts between our worlds than we are."

"Even so, just as not all humans are good at heart, not all digimon have the capacity for good. Some of them are as depraved and dangerous as some of the more infamous amongst us. Many of us, have decided that Digimon must be removed from existence entirely because of some of the more deplorable digimon. Which is why to clear this fog of animosity that has settled between our worlds, I have invited two guests from the Digital - a close friend and a liaison for both worlds. Agumon, if you would please."

Agumon opened the briefcase to reveal a laptop with a long antennae sticking out of the top. Taichi reached into his pocket, retrieved his digivice and pointed it directly at the screen. With a loud voice, he said, "Digiport, Open!"

The screen flashed a bright light and two figures emerged from the small computer. The first was a man dressed in a long white coat whose hood concealed his face. He threw off his hood to reveal a handsome young man with spiky brown hair. The other person caught the attention of the audience and set off a wave of gasps. A figure in white armor concealed beneath a flowing white robe, whose face was hidden beneath a large silver helm with long blonde hair running down his back. Perhaps the most shocking feature was his set of pure white, angelic wings that were folded behind him. Hikari recognized them immediately as Gennai and Lord HolyAngemon. Gennai was something of a mentor to the Digidestined, always ready to guide them in the right direction and help them in their battle against threats to both the Real and Digital World. Lord HolyAngemon was a liaison between the digidestined and the Holy Digimon.

Agumon closed the laptop once the light faded, while Taichi returned his attention to the audience, "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Gennai and Lord HolyAngemon."

A few murmurs swept through the audience while Lord HolyAngemon took to the podium and bowed, "Greetings, I am Lord HolyAngemon. I am the liaison between the Chosen Children and the Holy Digimon. In the past year, there were many cross-overs between our worlds. Many humans found themselves in the Digital World while many digimon found themselves in your World. These instabilities between our dimensions are beyond anyone's control - it is neither the fault of humans or Digimon as a whole. This instability is the direct result of several weaknesses that appeared in both our worlds, a weakness abused by a powerful entity which has since been dealt with."

"The threat was handled by a group of children chosen to protect both of our worlds, as it has always been. These children were selected to be the guardians of our worlds because they each embodied one of the qualities of light or demonstrated themselves as the most capable to defend our world. I'm sure many of you wonder why children were burdened with this responsibility, and the answer is quite simple: children have purity in their hearts - a light that shines even in the darkest of shadows, warming the hearts of all those around them and providing hope in the gravest of times."

Lord HolyAngemon paused after he said those words. He glanced to the side at Taichi who stood off to the side with Gennai and Agumon. With a quick nod from Taichi, Lord HolyAngemon continued, "This system could not last, however. In the last conflict, one of the children lost their life to defeat the cause of these instabilities. Even though the child's death meant the end of further conflict, this loss was met with a strong demand for reform. Thanks to the help of what you call the Digital Advisory and Tactical Association, led by Yagami Taichi, the Digital World has reorganized its former heirarchy in favor of a more empowering system that allows each Digimon a voice in the Digital World's affairs. In addition, the Digital World now has a formal defense force to reduce our reliance on children from the Real World titled the Digimon Self Defense Force - a service that will be overseen by DATA."

"These actions are not to be taken as a sign of aggression. On the contrary, these actions are meant to demonstrate the digimon of the Digital World uniting to promote peace and prosperity in our world. I implore humanity to do the same in the your World. As a sign of our good will, the DSDF is formally investigating the cause of these dimensional rifts and handling known weak points in cooperation with DATA. Taichi, if you would please outline the Joint plan to handle any and all future weak points."

Lord HolyAngemon stepped aside for Taichi to retake the podium. They briefly shook hands in front of everyone before Taichi faced the audience, "Thank you Lord HolyAngemon. As he said, DATA has partnered with the DSDF to handle all future incidents. Our process is simple, but effective. Early warning systems have been set up throughout both worlds to help us more easily identify and locate any and all future weak points. As soon as a weak point is identified, agents from both DATA and the DSDF will evacuate the area of all life. Once evacuated, the area will be quarantined until such time that a way to stop the-"

BANG!

A single gunshot echoed as the entire assembly broke out into screams. Hikari watched in horror Taichi's left shoulder turned into a spray of blood before he was thrown backwards by the force of the shot. Lord HolyAngemon and Agumon instantly ran in front of Taichi while Gennai ran to his side. Lord HolyAngemon threw off his white robe and held a golden sword in his hands, which he pointed menacingly at some figure off camera, "Don't come any closer, or I will strike you down!"

The camera swung around to the side to two figures, a man and a woman dressed in patient gowns. The man was a full head shorter than the woman, both had dark hair and completely blank expressions on their face. Both were armed with pistols which they mindlessly waved around as they walked towards the stage. The man held a pistol in his hand which he fired again, this time at Lord HolyAngemon. With a simple swing, the angel digimon sliced the bullet in two and it hit the wall behind him. The woman cocked her head to the side, her voice carrying a dark tone, "You haven't changed at all, Lord HolyAngemon."

"That voice," the angel said, "You're..."

"We...," the man said.

"..Are...," the woman continued.

"...Legion," a third shadowy figure appeared between the two humans, its only distinguishing feature was a pair of glowing red eyes. The shadow disappeared as quickly as it appeared, just as two DATA agents approached the couple.

Hikari saw the agents and recognized them as Shizu and Kino. She had seen them around the facility every once in a while, but didn't really talk to them. Even though they weren't digidestined, Hikari knew they had been recruited into DATA because of their combat abilities. From what she heard, Shizu was a close quarters combat specialist with a katana and Kino was an unmatched marksman with a revolver. The two were often assigned missions together, because Yamaki believe the two's skills helped compensate for the others weakness. Kino and Shizu closed in on the couple, who raised their guns to their heads. With a sadistic voice, the couple said in unison, "Come any closer, and their lives are forfeit."

Shizu lowered his katana while Kino kept her revolver aimed steadily between the two adults. Hikari watched as Kino kept her gun trained on the couple. For a moment, it seemed Kino planned on taking the shot, until she lowered her weapon. As she did, a black shroud shot of bodies of the couple and threw Kino and Shizu aside. The couple fell to the ground unconscious as it glided through the air towards Lord HolyAngemon. The angel swung his blade with all his strength, only for the shroud to knock him away. Agumon took a swipe at it with his claws, only to find himself enveloped. The shroud grew in size, consuming everyone on the stage until it completely covered the stage of the General Assembly. It's voice echoed through the hall, an otherworldly voice that sounded as though many spoke at once, "Humans and Digimon alike, heed our word. You thought the cycles over and the war won. You bask in warmth of the light, while we are left to wander the shadows. But soon our guiding light will return and you will know true suffering!"

There was silence as the voice's cold laugh resounded through the walls while the camera continued rolling, "But worry not! We are not without mercy. Join us, and you shall be spared our wrath. You have one day."

With that, the shroud faded away and left nothing in its wake. All eyes were on the stage, where Gennai, Taichi and Agumon were absent. All that remained of their presence was a tiny pool of blood on the stage. Taichi's blood from the shoulder wound.

As the video feed died, the room instantly broke out into a panic. The Prime Minister and the Emperor quickly turned on Yamaki demanding an explanation he didn't have. At the same time, Hikari's mind raced. This was the reunion she planned last year all over again. Taichi was in the enemy's hands again. How could this happen? What were they after? They mentioned their guiding light, but could they mean Lucemon? He was dead! Takato destroyed him a year ago. Hikari was there, she had seen it with her own eyes.

Digimon that weren't destroyed in the Digital World had no way of reformatting and being reborn in Primary Village. Lucemon had destroyed the part of the Digital World around him, creating a gap between worlds. Lucemon was defeated inside this gap and therefore had nowhere to go. It wasn't like Myotismon, who was able to reside within Oikawa while he bided his time or Wizardmon whose spirit rested in the Real World. Lucemon died in the gap between worlds.

Even so, Hikari felt a powerful dread overtake her. This attack by Lucemon's remaining followers was publicly broadcast throughout the world. Everyone saw what happened and heard their threat. She reminded herself that there was a five minute delay between the filming and the broadcast. But that wouldn't stop the media's coverage of the attack. The whole world would soon know what happened, and would look to DATA for answers and a solution. Hikari just hoped that they were ready for whatever would come.

...

**Author's Notes:** Ain't I a stinker? I hoped you enjoyed the second chapter of the sequel. I'll be sticking with the twelve week schedule from now on simply because it gives me more time to think and decide how to handle each story. Plus it will allow me to write more chapters more frequently. My next update will be in twelve weeks on Friday, November 4th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and analysis into the next chapter of the story. If you are attending Northern Illinois University and would like to chat, just PM me and we can meet face to face! Or add me on the Facebook or the Playstation Network (PSN ID leo112358). Until next time, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out!


	3. Ghosts on Niijima

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon: Tamers belong to Bandai. Ghost Hunt is a light novel series written by Fuyumi Ono, serialized by Nakayoshi, and animated by JC Staff. Takato's Light is a story idea belonging to creepingshadow. Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard is a fan-based narrative intended to promote the original Digimon franchise. This is a not for profit story.

**Author's Notes:** Good evening fellow fan fiction connoisseurs. I understand it has been a long time since my last update, for which I apologize. I had several personal reasons for this, but one of the major reasons was I needed time to work on a little surprise I have for readers of Oyabun which should be ready by Christmas of this year, with any luck. That aside, I'm really happy to see Takato's Light 2 had such an overwhelming response. I understand some of you are a little upset that Takato hasn't appeared in the first two chapters. All I can say is please be patient with the story and give it time to get the ball rolling. Unlike Takato's Light, this story has been completely mapped out from beginning to end. However, it appears some of you are a little confused as to what's going on so I've included a brief recap of the first story after the chapter. As an added note, I want to thank my editor Kells for proofreading the stories and keeping track of continuity for me. Now, on to review responses:

**DigiDespairheart:** Kudos to you for being first. Yes, Daisuke will be relegated a little less as comedic relief in this story compared to the last in an attempt to make him 'cooler'.

**warrior-of-water:** The idea is a little complex, so I'll put it briefly: yes, the world's will become separate again - it's just taking longer than expected.

**Dragonrider04:** I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I'm sorry it's a little confusing. I've put a recap at the bottom that covers all the important points.

**pokemon-35055:** I'm glad you enjoyed it. I will try to update more frequently but I can't guarantee anything since I'm currently working on other projects.

**Hakkyou no Yami:** He's kind of dead. There really isn't a cure for that yet. Yet, is the key word in that sentence.

**masterart**: It's still a digimon fanfiction, but we will see characters from other anime and manga popping up here and there.

**Hotspot the 626th:** Thanks for the kind words! Wait no more for the next chapter is here for you to enjoy!

And so, I present the next chapter of Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard.

**Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard**

**Chapter 3: Ghosts on Niijima**

"The disaster last night at the United Nations has caused uproar in the international community—"

"—Declared a state of emergency earlier today; this comes in the wake of the unprecedented attack on the—"

"—Over my shoulder, you can see the Russian military mobilizing for what appears to be—"

"There can be no mistake. This is a divine sign from heaven that Digital Monsters are an affront to—"

"—Prime minister could not be reached for comment regarding increased military—"

"We will not negotiate with terrorist threats against our or any—"

"Who exactly is to blame for yesterday's chaos is the question on everyone's mind. The majority agree that it falls on DATA for this massive oversight in security."

"Turn off the televisions, people! Residual energies from the United Nations building confirm that wherever 'Legion' jumped, it was somewhere in the Digital World," Yamaki said as he walked into the conference room. Someone turned off the televisions and turned on a projector which displayed a map of the world over the back wall.

Not long after the attack on the United Nations during Taichi's address, Yamaki put all DATA agents on full alert and called everyone in the Tokyo metropolitan area into the DATA building—this included both the digidestined and the tamers. It was a school day, but Yamaki felt the safety of the world was a bit more important than homework. He pulled all of the agents into the largest conference room and quickly briefed everyone on what was going on, "So, let's go over this one more time. Last night, DATA's own Chief of Digital World Relations gave an address to the UN concerning the number of dimensional fluxes. He had three guests with him for the event: his digimon partner - Agumon, the digital world's liaison to the chosen children - Lord HolyAngemon, and the advisor to the chosen children - Gennai."

"About ten minutes into the address, two civilians - currently identified as Okazaki Tomoya and Nagisa – shot Yagami in the shoulder. Two of our own agents - Kino and Shizu - tried to apprehend the suspects, only for a third entity, referring to itself as 'Legion,' to reveal that it is possessing both Okazakis, and is holding them hostage. Our agents stood down, and 'Legion' went after Yagami, Agumon, and Gennai. Lord HolyAngemon tried to stop it but failed. 'Legion' then gives us 24 hours to join them before leaving with one of our own and two delegates from the Digital World. This is a very delicate situation we're in: politically and personally."

"The international community and the digital world are blaming DATA and each other for allowing this to happen. At the same time, some of you knew the victims on a personal level. However, the ultimatum doesn't give us much time to act. That's why I'm calling all hands on deck and demanding that you each remove your personal feelings from this matter."

Hikari thought this was a load of bull. Her brother was in enemy hands. She came close to losing him once and already lost Takato. She wasn't going to lose Taichi.

"Director," Riley came in from the back with a manila folder, "Shibumi and the others finished analyzing the data."

"Perfect timing," Yamaki said once Riley handed him the folder, "The Monster Makers have been tracing the energy signatures left behind from the UN breach. It starts at the UN building, goes through the Digital World and exits at several points around the globe. We're going to split you into teams and deploy them at different locations. Your objectives are to find the location of these exit points, who or what came out, and react accordingly. Neutralize all threats, transport dislocated digimon back to the Digital World, and find any leads on what happened to the delegates. I shouldn't have to remind any of you to treat the situation tactfully. Your team assignment is as follows: Team 1 will be Wong as lead, with Izumi and Hikari. You three will go down to the Izu Islands; start at Niijima and move south to Kozu Shima and Miyake Jima Island. Team 2 will consist of—"

Hikari stopped listening after that. She looked to her left to see Koushiro busy typing away into his laptop and Henry beside him looking at Koushiro's screen. Henry Wong was a good friend of Takato's and a Digimon Tamer like Jeri. His D-Arc was green but, unlike Takato and Jeri's D-Arc, it was still active because his partner was still alive.

After the briefing, everyone geared up and prepared for their missions. The Digidestined and Digimon Tamers used digiports to get their partners from the Digital World before going to their assignments. Hikari and her team took a helicopter south to the Izu Islands—specifically Niijima—to begin their investigation. Hikari was anxious for the entire trip; worried for Taichi, and what they were doing. She would do anything if it meant saving Taichi.

As they approached Niijima, Hikari noted that the skies became thick with clouds and a dense fog. Because of the density of the fog, it was difficult to say where they landed exactly but it wasn't near the town. The helicopter's blades slowly spun down and the pilot hopped out, "I'll stay with the chopper."

"Right, we'll go on ahead," Wong said, "We'll stay in contact on radio frequency 76.5 MHz, Channel 21."

"Copy," The pilot said, pulling an assault rifle out of the chopper and pushing a magazine into the stock. Hikari rejoined Henry and Koushiro, who were peering down onto Henry's D-Arc where a little radar popped up on the screen. A little red arrow started spinning around wildly until it finally pointed into the heart of town. They followed the arrow into Niijima Village, a small town located in the middle of the island, and continued on until it led them to Niijima High School. It was night, so their walk through town was largely quiet and the school was closed when they arrived. Much too their surprise, they found a kid in a hoodie spray painting the school wall with some kind of picture.

"Hey," Henry said, moving his hand slowly for his pistol, "What are you doing?"

The kid looked in their direction and threw the paint can at them before taking off down the street. Henry and Hikari instantly gave chase after him. Koushiro followed after them but was slowed down by the amount of computer equipment he was lugging.

"I hate it when people run," Henry panted. His partner, a small, white bunny with a horn on his head known as Terriermon, calmly noted, "Mouh Mahn Taih."

"Get off my head and then tell me that," Henry spat back between gasps for breath.

"This is ridiculous! I'll get him!" Gatomon hissed, gaining speed and taking after the kid. In an instant, Gatomon tackled the kid to the ground and swiped the hood off his head. Once Hikari, Henry, and Terriermon were able to catch up to the kid, they saw he, was in fact a she: a girl with short brown hair and a childish face, "Ack! Get off! Get off! What was that chant?"

"Calm down," Gatomon silenced the girl with a command, "What were you doing!"

"Get off me!" the girl threw Gatomon off her, "What do you want?"

"First, you can tell us who you are," Hikari said, pulling the girl off the ground and leaning her against a building. The girl looked from Hikari, to Gatomon, to Henry and sheepishly said, "Taniyama Mai."

"Mai, what were you doing defacing the school?" Henry asked the girl, keeping a hand on his pistol mostly to intimidate Mai. Mai saw the gun and swallowed, "It's a warding charm that's wards off evil spirits. I've been putting them up around the town to protect it from those monsters."

"Monsters?"

"Those things that have been attacking the town for a few days," Mai said, "I think you call them digimon, but these look more like ghosts. They don't like the warding charms so I've been putting them around town to scare the ghosts off."

"How come no one contacted us about this?" Henry asked.

"We haven't been able to call or email anyone outside the island for days. Some of the villagers tried to use boats to get help, but we never heard from them again," Mai explained, taking the time to look at each and everyone of them, "Who are you guys, anyway?"

"We're with DATA," Henry explained, "We're investigating an energy trail that leads right here. We think some Digimon might have come through the other side."

"Well, you're only several days late. I thought Digimon were supposed to be friendly but these digimon are hurting a lot of people," Mai pointed out angrily. Just then, Koushiro caught up gasping for breath with his partner Tentomon in tow, "Did..." he pants, "did we… ah, get him?"

"Her, and yes," Henry explained to Koushiro. Hikari continued her interrogation, "Do you know where these monsters are coming from?"

"They're coming from a cave at the base of Mount Miyatsuka," Mai said.

"Watch her," Hikari said to her partner while she rejoined Henry and Koushiro, "So, what do you guys think?"

"She said they look like ghosts. We're probably dealing with Bakemon," Koushiro pressumed.

"One part of her story doesn't add up," Henry said, "If the bio-emergence really did happen a few days ago, why didn't anyone back at HQ detect it?"

"There were a lot of dimensional fluxes recently," Koushiro chimed in, "A lot of them happening at the same time. It's possible that we missed a few."

"Well, why didn't we encounter any on our way here?" Henry demanded.

"Dumb luck?" Koushiro offered, to the dumbfounding of Henry and Hikari. Koushiro sighed, "Not every idea I come up with will be full of insight."

"If she's telling the truth, then we have a responsibility to deal with this situation," Hikari pointed out. Terriermon took this chance to add, "But there might be innocent digimon involved in this! It wouldn't be fair to them!"

"I know," Hikari said, "But if her story's right, then a lot of innocent people have already been injured."

"Can we discuss ethics another time?" Henry said, "Mai, can you take us to the cave where these things are?"

"I can show you the way," Mai said, "But some of my friends already went there to try and perform an exorcism, but I never heard from them again..."

"Dont worry about us," Hikari assured, "We can handle a few rogue digimon."

Mai examined each of the DATA agents and their digimon partners carefully. Hikari could tell she was frightened and she had every right to be. Bakemon were terrorizing the island and they had been cut off from the rest of the world. Fear was the natural human response; Hikari was scared as well. There was no way to tell how many Bakemon there were or if three agents would be enough to handle them alone. Even so, Hikari had hope that maybe, just maybe, Taichi was on the island—that he was alive and there was a chance she could save him.

"Okay, I'll take you."

...

Mai led them up a narrow mountain trail that was barely wide enough for them to pass through single file. The path was thick with brush and overgrown so that the dirt path was just barely visible. They continued further on in silence until they came along side a cliff side at the foot of the steep end of the mountain. They followed it until they came across an opening along the mountain side. With a shaking voice, Mai explained, "Okay. That's it. That's where those monsters are coming from."

"Okay," Henry said, speaking into his radio, "Charlie-03 to chopper, we're following a lead on a possible bio emergence. Radio DATA command and inform them to prepare a Medical QRF."

"Sorry, Charlie-03," The pilot replied back, "Communication is spotty at best. I've been trying to contact command since we arrived, but all I'm getting is dead air."

"Copy that. Keep trying and let us know if you can raise anything," Henry replied, "We'll keep you posted if this lead goes anywhere."

"Understood."

"Okay, Koushiro and Tentomon will stay here. Watch our exit and keep an eye on Taniyama," Henry ordered, "Hikari and Gatomon will be on point. We watch our corners and check our targets. There might be civilian humans and digimon in there: their rescue is priority one. Dispatching any hostile digimon is priority three after we try to talk them down, which is priority two. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," they all said in unison. Hikari pulled out her flashlight and headed first into the dark cave network. She kept her free hand on her pistol in case they encountered danger, but also made sure Gatomon was beside as they descended into the darkened cave. The temperature dropped the further they went down and the sound of chanting could be heard further down. With each step, the noise became clearer and Hikari could hear what they were saying, although it was also in the same unrecognizable language she had heard one year prior.

"Sanguis bibimus, Corpus edibus. Sanguis bibimus, Corpus edibus!"

Hikari rounded a corner and rested here eyes upon a large circular room which opened up at the ceiling to reveal a moonlit sky above. The moonlight shone through to reveal a gathering of ghostly Bakemon floating around an altar where two obscured figures were busy reveling in the worship.

"Alpha-08 to Chopper, we've got multiple contacts, possibly hostile," Hikari whispered into the radio, "We're going to move closer to get a better look. We're going quiet, but we'll keep you posted."

Hikari looked over her shoulders and motioned to Gatomon to come closer. Using hand gestures, she signaled possible hostiles were on the other side and pointed to a rock she wanted Gatomon to sneak towards. Gatomon nodded and crawled on all fours to a rock just before the formation of Bakemon who were now in the height of their ghastly chant, "Ave! Ave! Versus Formator! Ave! Ave! Versus Formator! Ave Bagramon!"

Hikari heard the chanting grow louder as the Bakemon began dancing around the figures in the center.

"Kari, I can just make out the two in the middle. I've never seen either of these kinds of digimon before. One is wearing large white armor, the other looks like he's a skeleton."

"Do you see any civilians?" Henry asked.

"There's too many Bakemon moving around," Gatomon said back, "I can't tell."

"What about Tai?" Hikari asked, raising her voice above a whisper, "Can you see Tai?"

"Keep your voice down," Henry warned, an order which Hikari ignored to ask again, "Come on, Gatomon. Can you see Tai?"

"What was that?" a gravelly voice asked, "You there! Find out what made that noise!"

"Dammit," Henry muttered under his breath, "Alright, we're going in! Gatomon, fall back to our position right away! Everyone else, follow my lead; Freeze! Hands in the air!"

Hikari drew her pistol and followed after Henry. She raised her pistol level to the nearest Bakemon, and shouted, "On the ground, NOW!"

Gatomon and Terriermon were in tow, jumping in front of the two DATA agents prepared to defend their partners should the need arise. The Bakemon quickly threw themselves in front of the two figures and roared, "We must protect the masters. Kill the intruders!"

"ZOMBIE CLAW!" one of the Bakemon howled, as two razor sharp claws shot out from under its ghostly sleeves. Henry was the one to fire the first shot. The echo of the gun shot reverberated off the walls and inside Hikari's head. Dazed from the noise, she regained composure just in time to see a claw coming right at her. The claw whizzed right past Hikari's head just as Henry's bullet pierced it the attacking Bakemon and forced it to the ground. It took Hikari a few seconds to grasp the fact that she should've been killed - if that Bakemon's claw were just a little more to the right, it would've killed her. It didn't take her long to recover from the shock of almost dying - and she pulled the trigger on her own gun. The hammer hit the shell in the chamber and she felt a kick back; the bullet flew out of gun and hit its mark on a Bakemon that was charging her.

"Charlie-03 to Alpha-04, we've engaged hostile contacts inside the cave," Hikari heard Henry yell into his radio, "Digimodify! Power Boost Activate!"

"Bunny blast!" Terriermon shouted, firing a stream of bullets from his mouth at the steadily approaching Bakemon. Not wanting to be out done, Hikari took out her digivice and pointed it at Gatomon, "Digiarmor energize!"

"Gatomon! Armor-digivolve to! Nefertimon!"

Nefertimon charged right into the heart of the Bakemopn formation and growled, "Cat's eye beam!"

Two blasts of energy shot out of her crown and sent the Bakemon falling to the ground around her. It didn't take long for more to take their place and swarm Nefertimon. Hikari wasn't worried to see Nefertimon engulfed, knowing full well that her partner could take care of herself. And she was right. Nefertimon burst out of the swarm of Bakemon with great force, sending the hostile digimon running while she zoomed around the room.

"Copy that, Charlie-03. I'm moving to your location," Koushiro said over the radio.

"Negative! Stay where you are and stop any runners!" Henry ordered over the radio. He fired another shot into the swarm of Bakemon before dropping his pistol magazine, "Loading, cover me!"

Henry ducked behind a rock and popped a fresh clip of ammo into his pistol. He quickly rejoined the fight and started to move forward, "Move in! Don't give them any room to move!"

"Roger!" Hikari said, firing the last of her magazine at a Bakemon that simply refused to go down. Her last shot was enough to send it sliding to the ground before her. She changed the magazine in her gun and followed Henry further into the room until they stood at the altar in the center. The two figures were gone, leaving only a swarm of Bakemon that relentlessly attacked.

"Now's the time! Digimodify! Digivolution Activate!" Henry declared while he slid a blue card through his d-Arc. On signal, his partner glowed a bright green while his skin peeled off to reveal a wire frame mesh underneath. The wireframe grew in size and changed shape before skin began to reattach, "Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

Gargomon jumped up to the middle in the center of the altar and shouted, "Get down! Gargo pellets!"

Hikari, Henry, and Nefertimon flew to the ground. Gargomon spun around in a circle, while firing the two chain guns he had for arms. The stream of bullets cut down the Bakemon around them, the heat from the shots turning Gargomon's arms red hot. Once Gargomon stopped shooting, Hikari looked up to see plenty of injured Bakemon all around them. They were crying out in pain, defeated but not enough to turn into data. That was good; suspects were easier to question when they were alive.

"Status?" Henry asked. Hikari pulled herself off the ground and said, "Clear!"

"Clear!" Nefertimon said as she set down beside Hikari.

"Clear!" Gargomon finished, keeping his arms aimed around him.

"Charlie-03 to Alpha-04, situation is clear. We captured several hostiles - how are things on your end?" Henry asked.

"All clear up here," Koushiro's voice said back, "Mai is asking about her friends. Do you have positive ID on any hostages?"

"Negative, no hostages in sight. I think I know someone who does," Henry walked out into the pile of Bakemon and pulled one up. He held it up to his face and said, "We have a couple of questions we'd like you to answer. If you cooperate, we might just send you back to the Digital World. If you don't, I can promise you that getting back to the Digital World will be the least of your worries."

"I'll die before I talk!" the Bakemon spat at Henry. Henry wiped the spit off his face and asked, "First question: We heard some people came in here –where are they?"

"I have nothing to say to you," Bakemon hissed, "Save your energy and kill me!"

"No, I don't think I'll do that just yet," Henry said. He looked over to Hikari, Nefertimon, and Gargomon with a serious look on his face. Hikari knew what he was about to do. The act was ethically immoral, but Hikari wasn't about to complain. The digimon may very well have known where her brother was and, if he did, she wanted to know. Hikari watched Henry clap his hands together as if in prayer and begin chanting, "Rin, Pyo, To, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen, Ko!"

Henry made a series of hand gestures and thrust his hands out at Bakemon. Bakemon shrieked in agony and sank to the ground.

"I'll ask this again," Henry said, "Where are the hostages?"

"Do your worst!"

"Rin, Pyo, To, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen, Ko!" Henry said again. This time, an unseen force sent the Bakemon flying backwards while also causing those around him to shriek out in agony. Deep in her heart, Hikari felt this was wrong. They were torturing a digimon for answers - granted it was an evil digimon, but it was still a digimon. A being capable of love and joy as much as hate and agony. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn't relent. They needed answers and this was the fastest way to do it. Henry approached the Bakemon he was interrogating again and said, "I'm not going to ask again. Where are they?"

"You will," the Bakemon scoffed, "Because you can't kill me - if you kill me, you lose your answers and you won't learn a thing. Your kind are all the same. You act tough, but you always have some moral line that you won't cross when the chips are down. It's that fact that makes you weak. Your kind can never do what is absolutely necessary to get what you want."

"Ko! Ko! Ko!" Henry said again, triggering another scream from the Bakemon, "For the record, I can do this all day."

"So, what? Do you think there's anything you can do that I haven't already suffered?" the Bakemon laughed sarcastically, "You took everything from us, and you still want more! Well let us give you something back: despair! Those humans will die here and there's nothing you can do to save them."

"Ko!" Henry shouted, sending shrieks throughout the Bakemon around the room. By this point, Hikari knew things had gone too far and she moved to stop him. With a serious voice, she said, "This isn't getting us anywhere."

"No, it's not," Henry said, "You and Nefertimon search the rest of the caves. Gargomon can watch the rest of the Bakemon while I keep questioning this one. I want to know who else was here, and what they were doing."

"Fine, but stop with the chanting," Hikari said, "It's hurting the Bakemon."

"All I'm doing is praying," Henry assured her, "It's a Buddhist chant - it calls for divine protection from evil intent. That's all its doing."

"It's hurting the Bakemon."

"Can we talk about this some other time?" Henry said, "We still have innocent people to worry about. Now follow your orders."

"Yes, sir," Hikari nodded. She hated to admit it, but Henry was right. They still had to find the people. She proceeded down the nearest tunnel in search for the missing persons, while Nefertimon dedigivolved into Gatomon and went down another.

"Stay in radio contact! Check in every five minutes!" Henry called after them as she proceeded further down. She didn't go far before stumbling across a fork in the pathway - the walls of the tunnel going left were hard and smooth, while the walls of the tunnel going right were soft, rough, and were held up by wooden columns. The dirt in that area was freshly dug and still not stable. Hikari shined her light down the right pathway to see it descended further down than the left. She pressed her radio on and said, "Alpha-08 to Charlie-03; found a freshly dug tunnel. I'm going to see where it goes."

"Copy that, Alpha-08. Stay safe."

Hikari hadn't gone more than a few feet before she stumbled upon a length of metallic cable running along the ceiling. The cable led her to a dimly lit room illuminated by a single light bulb which hung from inside a cage. Hikari shined flashlight through the bars to find five people tied to columns, with their eyes closed, but they were still breathing. A quick run through told her all she needed to know; her brother wasn't here. She despaired at that fact. If he wasn't here, then where was he? She gave herself a moment to despair over that fact before radioing Henry, "Alpha-08 to Charlie-03, I think I found our missing persons."

She went up to the cage doors to find it chained shut by a rusted chain. She shook it with all her strength, to find the chain was more than she could cut. She drew her pistol and fired at the chain; the bullet only managed to crack a link on the chain. Hikari put the barrel of the gun against the crack and fired a second shot. The link snapped and the chain came undone. Hikari pulled the chain away from the door and slid the cage open.

"Alpha-08, I just heard gun shots. What happened?"

"Just opening a door," Hikari said, "I'm going to check the hostages."

"Negative. Gatomon, go back up Alpha-08. Alpha-08, sit tight - they could be Bakemon in disguise."

"Copy."

"Give me a minute to back track; these tunnels go on forever."

"Please... help..." one of the prisoners said weakly. Hikari shined a flashlight in the direction of the voice and found the light fell upon a young man who was probably older than herself by a year. He was tall, with thick blonde hair that complimented his young but bruised face. He was dressed in a black robe with a white collar and a violet cloth hung around his neck. Just from looking at him, Hikari could tell he was a foreign priest. He cocked his head up to see the light and muttered, "Warn... others."

"I'm sorry. I'll need you to wait a little bit longer," Hikari said to the man, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere without you."

"There's... no," the man started, "Gabriel... no, Bag... first..."

The man slipped back into unconsciousness before he could finish. Hikari fought back the urge to help and kept a hand on her gun in case this was a ploy by the Bakemon. The Bakemon were known for shapeshifting to trick others to their deaths - if this was the case, it was very convincing. She steeled herself and spoke again into her radio, "Gatomon, what's your status?"

"Right behind you," Gatomon said, causing Hikari to jump in surprise, "Don't do that!"

"Scaredy cat," Gatomon joked, moving past Hikari to look at the hostages, "They're in rough shape."

"Yeah, help me bring them down one at a time," Hikari said, "I'll restrain them and then we can take them back up to the surface."

Gatomon nodded and bared her claws to cut the ropes on the first person, the blonde man who tried to tell her something earlier. The man fell to the ground with a thump and Hikari followed procedure to restrain. She put a knee on his back and shifted all her weight onto that knee while tying his hands behind his back with zip ties. She pulled hard on the ties to make sure they were secure before repeating this with everyone else.

The next person Gatomon freed was a tall gaunt man, with long black hair tied in a pony tail and dressed in a black suit. Hikari restrain him as well, along with the next man; he was dressed in traditional robes of a Buddhist monk but his hair was unnaturally long and tied back as if he were trying out to be a rockstar.

After the monk, was a red haired woman who appeared to be in her thirties, wearing the clothes of a Shinto priestess. Hikari found it odd that a woman so old would be dressed as a shrine maiden, but decided it was something better ignored. The last person was another man, roughly the same age as the foreign priest, dressed entirely in a black suit. Once they were all quietly restrained, Hikari used her D-3 and her D-Terminal to redigivolve Gatomon.

"Gatomon! Armor Digivolve to! Nefertimon!"

Hikari loaded each of them onto Nefertimon's back one at a time. With a press of a button, Hikari said, "Charlie-03, we're all clear here. We'll take them back up."

"Copy that, Alpha-08," Henry replied over the radio. Hikari led the way back up to the room where they left Henry. There, they found he restrained all of the Bakemon and was having them glide in a single file line back up to the surface. Standing beside the line was Gargomon, who kept his guns trained on the Bakemon as they passed him. Hikari motioned to Nefertimon to stop and went to meet Henry, "Wow, that was fast."

"None of them were willing to cooperate, so we'll have them sent back to Tokyo for holding. Yamaki will figure out what to do with them," Henry said, "How you doing over there Gargomon?"

"Mouh Mahn Taih," Gargomon said, much to Henry's frustration. He ran a hand through his hair and took a glance at Nefertimon, "Are you alright, carrying all five of them by yourself?"

"I'm fine. It's nothing," Nefertimon assured him. Henry nodded at that and spoke into his radio, "Charlie-03 to Alpha-04, we're moving captured Bakemon up to the entrance. Keep an eye on them and make sure none of them try to run."

"I see the first of them coming up," Koushiro replied, "Did you find the hostages?"

"Affirmative," Henry said, "We'll send them up next."

"Good. Chopper just confirmed a Medical QRF is inbound. ETA is forty five minutes," Koushiro explained.

...

About an hour later, Hikari and the rest of the team escorted the hostages and the captured Bakemon back into town where they found three Chinook helicopters loaded with a DATA medical team and a squad of soldiers from the SDF. The medical team was busy taking care of the hostages while the SDF worked Tentomon, Nefertimon, and Gargomon to tag each of the Bakemon and load them into one of the Chinooks. Henry and Koushiro were busy trying to set up a communication station to contact Yamaki at headquarters.

This left Hikari to interrogate Mai, who quietly sat beside the dark haired boy while the medical team tended to the others. Hikari kneeled down beside Mai and said, "Is everything alright?"

"No," Mai muttered, biting back tears, "I should have been with them. I should have helped."

"Ms. Taniyama, I know this is going to be difficult after everything that happened, but I need to ask you a few questions," Hikari said with a calm tone, "Will you be able to answer?"

"I'll try," Mai murmured. Hikari smiled at Mai and said, "We did a background check on you and your friends. Your friends are consultants or employed for the firm Shibuya Psychic Research. Would you mind telling us what exactly this firm does?"

"It's, um..., it's a paranormal investigation agency. Naru takes on cases to investigate the causes of paranormal activity. He took on this case because we received a strange message from one of the towns people saying ghosts were wandering the streets at night and attacking people when they were alone."

"I'm sorry, who's Naru?" Hikari asked.

"No, it's my fault," Mai forced a laugh, "I mean Kazuya. My boss."

"And you call him Naru?"

"Because he's a narcissist."

"Huh," Hikari looked over to the unconscious Kazuya, who was having his neck placed in a cast so that the medical team could transfer him to a stretcher. With a pretty face like his, Hikari was sure any man would be a little narcissistic. Now that she thought about it, he was quite handsome. However, she needed to keep her head focused and asked the next question, "Your investigation, what did you find?"

"Naru said a lot of the attacks could be explained without paranormal phenomenon," Mai explained, "A wife frustrated with her cheating husband, neighbors fighting over property lines, a patient wanting revenge on a misdiagnosis by a bad doctor... but there was one Naru couldn't explain. A little girl who went playing with her brother disappeared near the cave. Naru thought the girl just got lost in the cave, so he went in with Lin and Mr. Monk. When they didn't come back, John and Ms. Mika decided to perform an exorcism on the cave. As they were doing the exorcism, those... ghost digimon came out and dragged them into the cave. I got scared... so I ran back to town and started putting up the charms around to scare off the ghosts."

"How long were you here on the island?" Hikari asked.

"About a week," Mai said, "I thought I would be here forever. I was so scared."

"I just have one last question for you about your friend, the priest. When we found him, he said something about warning others and the name Gabriel. Does that mean anything to you?"

"No, nothing," Mai frowned, casting her eyes off to the side. Hikari caught this and concluded Mai was withhold something, "Mai, I need you to tell me everything you know so I can help your friends."

"Well..." Mai trailed off, "Part of the reason Naru hired me was because... I sometimes have dreams, kind of like visions and they help with the cases. I had a dream a few nights ago. In the dream, there was an angel but he was dead. The angel was dead, but there was a man and a dinosaur. The dinosaur and the man died, and the angel came back to life. I don't know what it means. Maybe it means something to you."

"Thanks for all your help," Hikari smiled, trying to hide the fact that Mai's dream sounded a little too familiar, "I'll have one of the medics look at you once they're done with your friends."

Hikari stood up and spoke with one of the medics before rejoining Henry and Koushiro. The chosen children and their partners boarded their helicopter and set off for the next island in the Izu Islands. As they flew off, Hikari's mind was clouded with worry. They hadn't found her brother and he was in serious trouble if Mai's dream really was a vision. Hikari just hoped the vision wasn't set in stone—that this angel wouldn't come back at the cost of Taichi's life. She'd already lost too much.

...

**Author's Notes:** That is all for tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in eight weeks on Friday, December 30th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and analysis into the next chapter of the story. If you are attending Northern Illinois University and would like to chat, just PM me and we can meet face to face! Or add me on the Facebook or the Playstation Network (PSN ID leo112358). However, please let me know that you read these stories because I tend to ignore invites from random people I don't know. Until next time, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out!

**Recap**: Takato and his family moved from Shinjuku to Odaiba to expand their bakery business. Takato was distraught with breaking up with his girlfriend and childhood crush, along with starting a new high school life. He quickly befriended the digidestined and found himself in the Dark Ocean not long after. The digidestined launched a rescue mission to save him only to end up being saved themselves by Takato and his partner: Guilmon. As thanks and celebration of their friendship, the digidestined invited Takato to their reunion picnic in the Digital World while Hikari went to visit her brother Tai who became increasingly distant. At the picnic, Tai met with an unfortunate accident and became comatose. He was rushed to a hospital where he recovered quickly but spoke cryptic messages only Takato could hear. Takato took Hikari on a date that ended disastrously when they ran into Takato's ex-girlfriend, Jeri. Hikari was then kidnapped by her brother Tai, who turned out to be a resurrected D-Reaper in disguise. D-Reaper gave Hikari to Daemon who explained the coming return of the angel of the morning star and the demon lords. The Tamers and Digidestined teamed up to fight off the rampaging D-Reaper while Takato became possessed and Hypnos tried to activate the weaponized Juggernaut. As soon as the juggernaut started sending the D-Reaper back to the Digital World, the demon lords used the hole in space time to escape their imprisonment and ravage the Real and Digital Worlds.

Takato broke free from his possession to save Hikari. Some of the Tamers and digidestined shared a vision where they met with Holy Angel Caste who explained the world was approaching a final battle predicted at the beginning of time as willed by the Creator, and that their only hope rested with Takato. Takato took it upon himself to hunt down and defeat each of the demon lords. After defeating Beelzebumon he went alone to fight Leviamon only to realize he would need the help of his friends. He and Hikari defeated Belphemon together, only for Hikari to be captured by the Lucemon-possessed Taichi who dragged her into the perverted Dark Ocean. Takato and the others followed, defeated Daemon and found themselves on File Island where Lucemon had begun his attack on Holy Angel Castle. Azulongmon was defeated and explained some of the digimon allied with Lucemon. He used the last of his strength to open a passage to the Domain that would allow the Digidestined and Tamers to bypass the heated battle. They found Barbamon waiting for them at the gates to Holy Angel Castle preparing to destroy File Island, only to be stopped. Before they could enter, they met with Lilithmon who implored them to stop Lucemon before sacrificing her life energy to revive the fallen digimon.

The Digidestined and Tamers fought with Lucemon, only for Taichi to finally break free of his possession to protect his sister. This only slowed Lucemon down, as he toyed with the heroes. He then killed Takato and Guilmon, sending Takato to another dimension where he met with another digidestined named Takuya. Takuya explained Lucemon's grand plan and gave Takato the power he needed to return to the Digital World. He returned three days later to find the Digital and Real World on the verge collapse. He freed the captured Tamers and Digidestined before fighting Lucemon. Using the power Takuya gave him, he turned into Susanoomon - who had the power to match Lucemon. With their combined efforts, they defeated Lucemon and Takato absorbed Lucemon's data. However, the worlds were still in ruins. Azulongmon explained that Takato, who absorbed Lucemon's power, had the ability to restore the worlds to their former glory but releasing all that energy would kill him. Takato spent his last few moments with Hikari before dying.

**Explanation for the Crossover:** Part of Lucemon's plan to bring about 'infinite singularity' was to collapse all of causality back to universe prime. This goes in part to a multiverse theory which suggests a new universe is born at every instant to make up for every probable outcome - of which an infinite number of outcomes exist. Lucemon used his powers to bring each universe in the multiverse towards each other in universe prime; the first universe. The damage this would bring to causality is similar to the damage caused by an infinite line of cars driving forward on a treadmill that each tried to occupy the same spot on the treadmill. Lucemon's will caused this to happen, but the multiverse became unstable as soon as this happened. Takato used Lucemon's power to restore the multiverse to its natural state - but such a process would take time, since there are an infinite number of universes being restored at every given instant and there are an even greater infinite number of universes to be restored. Naturally, this would mean some universes still exist in the Real World that don't belong; which is why we've seen characters from Ghost Hunt, Kino's Journey, and Clannad.

I understand some of you still want to see Takato and it is weird for him to not be in a story where his name is on the title. However, Takato is dead. He might come back. He might not. You'll just have to wait and see.


	4. The Case of Lagoon Company

**Disclaimer**: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon: Tamers belong to Bandai. Black Lagoon is a manga series written by Rei Hiroe and published by Shogakukan. Takato's Light is a story idea belonging to creepingshadow. Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard is a fan-based narrative intended to promote the original Digimon franchise. This is a not for profit story.

**Author's Notes:** Greetings fellow lovers of the internet, anime, videogames, and fanfiction! As you may already know: voting on SOPA has been postponed. This does not mean it's over or we've won. This bill arms the MPAA and the RIAA with everything they need to destroy the internet as we know it. Even worse? It's wordings are so loose that it puts a target on everyone whose ever is unfortunate enough to be in front of it. Work with your local representative to stop SOPA in its tracks. In other news, thanks for your patience in between updates. In exchange, I want to thank my editor Kells for always beta-ing my stories for me. Now on to review responses:

**Hotspot the 626th**: Takato may or may not appear. No comment on that until the next chapter at the latest.

**masterart**: You'll just have to wait and see.

**pokemon-35055:** Thanks for the compliment. Please read and enjoy.

**Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard**

**Chapter 4: The Case of Lagoon Company**

The helicopter circled around west of Mt. Tenjo of Kozu Shima before turning south towards local airport. Koushiro was on a laptop which showed a model of the island and a calculated area where the bioemergence would have happened. If it was anything like the last island, Hikari feared that maybe the island would also be occupied by digimon who were able to secretly bio emerge. As the helicopter continued south, they caught sight of three boats speeding along the coast. The lead boat looked like an old military vessel while the two pursuing boats were police craft. As they continued south, they watched one of the pursuing boats explode into a ball of fire.

"Those police boats down there are taking fire," Henry noted just as Terriermon leapt onto his head to get a good view.

"Should we help them?" Tentomon asked, just as a rocket flew past the helicopter and exploded somewhere above. Hikari followed the smoke trail and saw it extend from the lead boat.

"I guess that's a yes," Koushiro answered, while he fastened his seatbelt and put his electronics away. Hikari and the others followed suit, adjusting her headset and opening a panel beside her which contained a mounted gun. Hikari pulled out the gun and slid the door open, tightening her grip to the weapon as the wind roared in. She adjusted the gun onto a mounted rack and started feeding it a belt of ammo, slamming them into the feed until she heard a click.

"Pilot! Take us closer so we can get a clean shot at the suspect," Henry yelled at the pilot. The pilot gave them a thumbs-up and the helicopter fell into a dive just as another rocket whizzed past.

"Where the hell did these guys get rockets?" Terriermon complained.

"They're probably pirates!" Koushiro answered, "It's the only way they'd have that kind of fire power and it would explain why they'd shoot at us."

"I thought pirates only existed in fairy tales!" Gatomon shouted over the roar of the helicopter blades as the helicopter came along side the boat. Hikari looked at Henry and asked, "Permission to fire?"

"The hell do you think?" Henry said, "Shoot them before they shoot us!"

Hikari nodded and started firing burst shots to keep the boat within her sight. On the deck of the boat was a man in business clothes who cowered behind some crates, covering his head with his arms and curling up into a ball. Beside him was a woman in a tank top and short shorts, armed with a rocket launcher in one hand and an assault rifle in the other. She didn't seem bothered by the fact she was being shot at and fired the rocket at the helicopter, missing by a long shot. The woman threw the rocket launcher aside and started firing the assault rifle at them. Hikari heard the bullets reverb off the frame of the aircraft but didn't stop shooting.

"That thing's built like a tank," Hikari said to Henry, "It's still going."

"I know!" Henry yelled back, "Tentomon! Use your super shocker on the engine! Maybe you can fry it!"

"You're joking right?" Tentomon asked, just as a bullet flew past them and smashed the window on the other side. Hikari saw Henry stare at Tentomon seriously which made the bug digimon throw his claws up in defense, "Okay! I'll go! Super Shocker!"

Tentomon leapt out of the helicopter and took to the air, firing a blast of electricity from his back and hitting the rear of the boat. It was a direct hit because the boat slowed down until it came to a stop. The pursuing police boat came alongside the boat, two officers on board pointing their guns at her. The woman had her assault rifle trained on them but dropped them and threw her hands up once she caught sight of the helicopter - Hikari still aiming the gun at her.

The officers detained the woman and man, throwing them onto the police boat and demanding whoever else was in the boat to come out. Another police boat came up alongside them just as the suspect boat's hatch flew open. The first to come out was a blonde man in a Hawaiian shirt and glasses. Next was a dark-skinned bald man in shades with his hands in the air. The dark skinned man looked up at the helicopter, specifically at Hikari, and gave her the finger.

"Am I allowed to shoot his finger off?" Hikari asked.

"No, they're already in custody. Let's just meet the local police and go from there."

...

"DATA? Thanks for your assistance in apprehending those four, but I still have to ask what you're doing all the way out here," the chief of police said to them. They were inside his office, standing at attention before his desk while the chief of police looked over the police report again. He was a gruff middle aged man with a bald spot forming at the back of his head.

"We're on assignment, investigating the attack on the UN," Henry answered, "We have reason to believe that the attacker fled to the Digital World and reemerged somewhere on this island."

"That a fact? And I suppose those three are digimon? I've never seen one up close," the chief of police said, pointing at Terriermon, Gatomon and Tentomon, "It's kind of hard to believe something so dangerous can be so cute."

"Who're you calling cute?" Terriermon demanded.

"He meant that as a compliment," Henry explained, "Digimon are no different from humans. They want to live their lives and that's all."

"I know, I saw Yagami's speech," the chief said, putting the report down and showing them the profiles, "Those four you helped catch are members of Lagoon Company - a sort of pirate-mercenary group based somewhere in Roanapur, wherever the hell that is. They have quite the rap on them: piracy, robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, murder, association with known terrorists, and so much more. Anyway, I want to thank you on behalf of our department for assisting in their arrest."

"We're glad to help," Henry answered. He stepped towards the police chief's desk and went on, "Maybe you could help us; like I said, we're investigating the attack on the UN and we're following a possible lead on where the attacker emerged. Have you noticed anything strange recently?"

"Other than those four showing up? No," the chief answered grimly, "We did find a lot of contraband in their boat though; plenty of guns and some foreign currencies. There was one other thing though."

"What would that be?"

"A steel suitcase. We haven't been able to open it and find what's inside. We're interrogating the suspects now but they're not talking. You're welcome to take a crack at them if you want," the chief offered. Henry smiled confidently, "We'll have our computer expert download their profiles from Interpol and we'll see about cracking them. Koushiro, get on it."

"Right," Koushiro nodded, taking out a smart phone and typing away furiously on its keyboard. The chief led them to the interrogation rooms, where each suspect was held in a different room. They were each handcuffed to their tables to make sure they couldn't get out. By the time they were down there, Koushiro already had their profiles on his phone and showed it to them through his computer.

"This is everything I have on them from Interpol. The big guy goes by the alias 'Dutch', he's an ex-marine who fought in Vietnam and is supposed to be in charge of Lagoon Company. The one with the glasses goes by the alias 'Benny', he's a computer whiz from Florida who got in trouble with the FBI for constantly hacking bank accounts for money. It says here that he also had a run in with the mafia, although it doesn't say what over. Also says that he's the mechanic, computer guy, and their driver. The business suit guy goes by Okajima 'Rock' Rokuro, a Japanese salaryman who used to work for Asashi Heavy Industries. He's supposed to have died after being kidnapped by the Lagoon Company raided a ship he was on. It says here he's the accountant, translator, and negotiator of Lagoon Company. And last is the woman, who goes by 'Revy' or 'Two Hands'. She's their gunman, a Chinese national who has a rap sheet in New York. It also says she's not all there, though I'm not sure what that means."

"I'll talk to Dutch," Henry nodded, "Maybe we can get something out of him if we talk about his service record."

"Then I've got Benny!" Koushiro said excitedly, "I wanna learn what he knows about computers!"

"I guess I'll take Revy, then," Hikari added, turning the computer towards her to see Revy's file, "Gatomon, you don't mind playing the helpless cat do you? I'm sure we can scare her in to talking if playing nice doesn't work."

"Meow," Gatomon said quietly, hopping into Hikari's arms and curling up into a ball. The three agents went their separate ways to meet with their suspects. Hikari walked into the interrogation room and found Revy leaning back in her chair with her feet kicked up on the table. Revy looked at Hikari with sickened eyes and laughed, "What? Big bad police are trying the cute angle now? It ain't gonna work!"

"We're DATA, not police," Hikari started, taking and a seat and running a hand through Gatomon's fur, "That was our helicopter you were shooting, by the way."

"And I give a fuck because?"

"I just want to talk. How about we start with what you were doing in Kozu Shima?"

"We thought we'd fuck up your little island. How the fuck does that sound, little school bitch?" Revy's expression grew into a twisted smile, the kind Hikari only saw in horror movies, "Yeah, you look like you still go to school. You know what they do to schoolgirls where I'm from? They fuck 'em up the ass nice and hard! You want to get fucked up the ass, bitch?"

"You really have a dirty mouth," Hikari said back, trying to maintain her composure, "So you want to tell me what you were doing?"

"This, right here," Revy shot up her middle finger at Hikari, "You want me to do you too?"

"Are you going to talk any time soon or are you just going to keep screwing around?" Hikari asked. Revy laughed, "I'll keep fucking around. See, I still don't see what I'm supposed to get out of telling you a damn thing - dumb little bitch."

"If you talk, we may drop the charges for damaging police property," Hikari offered, "If I like what I'll hear, I'll see about dropping the charges for attacking DATA agents too. That's all I can offer."

"Fuck off," Revy laughed, "You have enough on me to get me the death penalty. Dropping a few charges isn't going to change that. Give me something I want."

"Okay, what do you want?" Hikari asked.

"You're pet cat is a digimon, ain't it?" Revy asked, "See, I know a guy who wants to cut one of those fuckers open - see what makes them tick."

"Okay, how about this," Gatomon leapt out of Hikari's arms and onto Revy, bearing her claws and fangs for Revy to see, "Tell us what you were doing!"

"Gatomon!" Hikari snapped, seeing her partner ready to take apart Revy who just cackled away like a madman at the idea of being killed. Gatomon stepped away from Revy and looked back to see the woman was mostly unbothered, "That's right, call off your little pet. If you really wanted to hurt me, you'd have fucking done it by now."

"I think we've heard enough Hikari, let's go," Gatomon leapt off the table and marched her way to the door. Hikari followed after her partner and left the room while Revy just kept laughing her ass off. She found Henry, Koushiro, Tentomon, and Terriermon waiting for them, "Anything?"

"Other than she likes to swear? No," Hikari frowned.

"Same here, I got nothing out of the big guy," Henry added.

"Plenty," Koushiro smiled. The others widened their eyes in surprise, not expecting the computer technician would be able to interrogate information out of a suspect, "What did he say? What were they doing?"

"Oh, that. I was talking about computers," Koushiro noted, "I forgot to ask him what he was doing here."

"Damn."

"Figures," Tentomon floated to the ground, "So what do we do now?"

"There's still Rokuro, maybe he knows something," Terriermon said aloud, "What do you think Henry?"

"It's worth a shot. Hikari, you got this one," Henry said, "I'm going to go contact command - let them know what we're up too. Koushiro, go find us some transport so we can start investigating that bioemergence site."

"Right," Koushiro nodded. They each went their separate ways with Hikari and Gatomon going into Rock's interrogation the room. Inside they found Rokuro resting his heads in his hands, muttering nonsense to himself. Hikari took a seat cross from him while Gatomon leapt up onto the table. Hikari grabbed his attention with a cough, "Rokuro, I'm an agent with DATA. I have a few questions we'd like you to answer."

"I'll tell you whatever you want. We're dead anyway," Rokuro said to no one in particular, "What the hell were we thinking making a deal with the damned devil?"

"Hey, focus!" Hikari snapped her fingers in front of the man to bring him back to the present, "What are you doing in Kozu Shima?"

"It started a day or two ago. So much has happened since then that I'm not sure anymore," Rokuro said quietly, "This couple - looked young, too young to be in Roanapur. They had a briefcase, but they didn't say what was in it. They said it had to get to Miyake Jima Island by today and that a contact would meet us there. They said it was very important that it get there today. They paid us in gold bars if you can believe that, but it's what they said before the left that still bugs me: they said 'you now walk the valley of the shadow of death, but there is no one with you.' Revy told them to pay up and piss off."

"Did you look inside the brief case?"

"No," Rokuro shook is head, "Client confidentiality and other reasons. We're just couriers and knowing less is better in this trade. But that's not important. What is important is that this brief case has been nothing but trouble since we got it. First, we get held up by some missionaries from the rip off church who tell us we're working with the devil. We figured they were buying their own bit a little too much. As soon we get out of the harbor, these mercenaries come after us and demand we surrender the briefcase. Revy is the best with these negotiations, and she told them 'no' in her own special way."

"After that, we got attacked by some crazed sea animals. I'm not just talking about a few fish either. I mean sharks, porpoises, a giant squid, whales, ...I sound insane!" Rokuro seemed to realized and banged his head against the table, "But you have to believe me, it's all true! These whales kept banging into the boat, a shark jumped up onto the deck and kept going after us, and the giant squid wrapped its tentacles around the ship like it was trying to crush it. We managed to lose them, but only because we wandered into a storm. The waves almost capsized the boat, if it wasn't for the fact that we found our way into the eye of the storm. We followed it for hours and, when the storm passed, we managed to drift into Korean waters. The Korean Navy chased us all the way into Japanese waters, where the JMSDF pursued us all the way here. That's when you guys showed up."

"So you came this far to deliver a package," Hikari said, to make sure she heard the story right, "What makes you think this was a deal with the devil?"

"Are you kidding? Nothing in my story makes sense! A giant squid? Whales? What the fuck are they doing all the way out here? And how did we end up in a tsunami outside of tsunami season? And this whole time I had this suspicion that there was a fifth person on the boat! Everywhere I went, I felt like there was someone watching me even when I was alone."

"I see," Hikari nodded, wondering who was more insane: Rokuro or Revy. She kept those thoughts to herself and listened quietly as Rokuro kept talking, "Just a little bit before the Japanese Navy showed up, I went out into the deck to check the damage we received from the Korean Navy. When I got onto the deck, I saw a shadow standing on the deck. It looked like a kid, who just stood there looking out towards the sea. I tried to talk to the kid ...but ...he vanished."

"A kid?"

"Yeah," Rokuro said.

BOOM!

"Not again! Now what's going to kill us?" Rokuro screamed, falling over backwards in his chair. The room shook and the lights flickered, with Hikari instinctively reaching for her gun. The door flew open to reveal Henry, "Get out here quick! Some guy is tearing through the department."

"I'll be right there," Hikari pulled the hammer back on her pistol and followed Henry out the door. Gatomon ran ahead of them out into the main office of the department where they found several of the officers firing their weapons at a lone figure dressed in white trench coat. The figure hid his face beneath a white hood that was large enough to conceal the top half of his face, while a red scarf hid the bottom half of his head. Beneath the trench coat, he wore a blue suit complete with a white tie and gray loafers. He walked through the department without disregard for his own safety even though bullets were flying at him. The bullets that hit him had no impact, as he continued walking as if nothing happened, occasionally brushing his shoulder as if lint landed on it. He walked right up to a police officer who fired his pistol until no more bullets came out, and lifted the officer up to his face. With a deep voice that made the hairs on Hikari's head stand on end, he shrieked, "The Lagoon Company's briefcase, where is it?"

"I don't know! I swear!"

"Useless," the figure said, just as a machine gun appeared in its hand. It pointed it at the man who started to whimper quietly until Hikari fired two shots at him. The figure dropped the officer and turned its head to Hikari, "The child of light? Then DATA is here."

"I recognize that voice," Gatomon ran between it and Hikari, throwing her arms out as if to shield her partner, "Guys we need to digivolve now!"

"Got it!" Hikari replied, knowing to trust her partner when it came to dark digimon. While Henry and Koushiro held up their digivices, she held out her D3 and D-Terminal and shouted, "Digiarmor energize!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

"Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

"Gatomon! Armordigivolve to! Nefertimon!"

The three digimon rammed the lone figure in one go and pushed it through one of the exterior walls where it landed with an earth shaking crash into the parking lot. The digimon and DATA agents ran out to meet the figure while the police watched from inside, unsure of what to do since their weapons were useless. Hikari raised her gun to the figure and circled around while Henry ordered, "By the authority of DATA, I order you to drop your weapon and surrender yourself immediately."

"No," the figure laughed, raising its gun up to Henry. Henry didn't even flinch as he stepped closer and barked, "Last warning! Drop your weapon!"

"Hellfire!" The figure said, firing a barrage of bullets at Henry. Henry jumped to the side and everyone started shooting the figure to little effect. Henry stood back up and fired his bullets again, only to be hit from the back and sent flying forward towards the figure. The figure laughed and stepped on Henry while he tried to stand up, "I should have mentioned: Hellfire never misses its mark."

"I knew it! It's Astamon!" Nefertimon said aloud.

"Him! He's supposed to be Lucemon's personal assassin! He never fails!" Kabuterimon added fearfully. The figure chuckled and pulled back his hood to reveal the face of a horned wolf with long, flowing white hair that ran down his back. Piercing, blood red eyes stared into Hikari's very soul as he looked at her. With a sharp toothed grin, he explained, "I guess there's no point in hiding it now. I am Astamon, Prince of the Legion! Servant on the most high Lord Lucemon!"

"Maybe you haven't being paying attention, but Lucemon's dead!" Hikari shouted at the ultimate. Astamon laughed at her, "Do you really believe that? No matter. Tell me, what happened to those humans called Lagoon Company? They have a very important package for me."

"You'll have to go through us to get it!" Kabuterimon pushed Astamon off Henry, who only slid a few feet back, "Gladly! Hellfire!"

Astamon fired his gun at their group, and they quickly scattered. Kabuterimon grabbed Gargomon by the shoulders and lifted him into the air, weaving through Astamon's barrage while Gargomon fired back. Hikari grabbed onto Nefertimon and the duo was airborne as well. Hikari clung tightly to Nefertimon out of fear of falling off and occasionally took a potshot at the ultimate below. Henry and Koushiro took cover behind a nearby dumpster, shooting at Astamon to little effect. Astamon cackled madly at their efforts, marching towards the police station casually despite the attacks he was taking, "AH HA HA HA! I'm having so much fun!"

"Electro Shocker!"

"Gargo Pellets!"

"Beam of Isis!"

The three attacks hit Astamon and launched up a cloud of dust. As it cleared, Astamon could be seen brushing the dust off his coat. He them aimed his gun up at Kabuterimon and said, "Bang!"

Even though he didn't pull the trigger, an explosion went off alongside Kabuterimon and he dropped Gargomon. Nefertimon turned into a dive and Hikari held out her arms to catch the digimon, "Gargomon! Turn back into Terriermon!"

A green light enveloped Gargomon and her turned back into Terriermon. Nefertimon kicked up her speed and got under Terriermon in time for Hikari to catch him. For a moment, Hikari sighed in relief until she heard Astamon's voice next to her, "Boo!"

Hikari turned her head and saw the bottom of Astamon's boot hit her. Nefertimon dove so close to the ground that Astamon was close enough to get her. The hit knocked Hikari off Nefertimon's back and sent her falling to the ground a few feet below. Hikari didn't linger too long and scrambled to her feet with Terriermon still in her arms. She looked over her shoulder and saw Astamon walking towards her slowly with his gun aimed on her until Nefertimon tackled him from behind, "Hikari run!"

Hikari nodded and ran behind the dumpster with Henry and Koushiro, "Guys!"

"This guy's built like a truck," Henry noted, "Are you sure he's just an ultimate? Shouldn't that mean Nefertimon is a match for him?"

"It says here that Astamon is technically an ultimate, but his power level puts him in the same league as MegaGargomon or Omnimon," Koushiro read aloud from his laptop, "We'll need a lot more firepower to take him down."

"Great," Henry groaned, "Okay, here's the plan: we're going to push this dumpster and use it as cover to get back into the station. Hikari, get inside and have the officers get every weapon they have: even the one's they confiscated from the Lagoon Company! We'll hit him with hard. Koushiro, use the station's communications to get in contact with HQ - tell them to send medics and a support team ASAP! Ready? On three! One, two, three!"

Together, the three humans and Terriermon pushed the dumpster through the parking lot towards the hole in the police station. Once alongside it, Hikari and Koushiro rushed inside the station while Henry and the digimon stayed behind to hold off Astamon. Koushiro ran straight for the dispatch while Hikari got the attention of the officers watching the battle ensue, "We need every single weapon you've got. Everything!"

"These pea shooters weren't even touching him!" one of the officers pointed at his pistol, "What the hell will more of them do?"

"What about the weapons confiscated from Lagoon Company?" Hikari asked, "I'm sure they had plenty in their boat."

"That's all evidence, we can't just use it!" another officer protested. Hikari pointed at Astamon outside and exclaimed, "Are you serious? Can't you see what Astamon is doing?"

"The evidence locker is downstairs, I'll lead the way," the first officer said.

"Are you serious? The chief will have your badge!" the other officer yelled at them as they raced downstairs past the interrogation rooms. They came across a barred door marked 'Evidence Locker'. The officer fiddled with a set of keys to unlock the door and finally threw it open. Hikari stepped in first and heard a loud beeping noise coming from the digivice. It wasn't her D3, but Takato's D-Arc that started vibrating uncontrollably and flashing a white light. While several officers rushed past her and started throwing open boxes, Hikari held up the D-Arc and watched as a radar appeared on its screen. The arrow pointed to a metal briefcase to her right labeled with a sticker that read: Evidence 0A-0012, Lagoon Company Arrest. This was the briefcase Lagoon Company was transporting, and what Astamon was after. Hikari threw the case open to see a padded styrofoam interior that protected a pair of goggles. She took it in hand to examine it more closely just as the D-Arc fell silent. The goggles had a yellow frame and a black strap, with the left lens slightly cracked. Hikari had only ever seen one person wear these kind of goggles.

Matsuda Takato.

But he left nothing behind on the day he died. Everything vanished in a flash of white light, leaving behind nothing but her memories of him. So where did this come from? Lagoon Company said a young couple gave them the briefcase, but then where did that couple get it? An explosion above reminded Hikari that there was still a battle to be fought. She closed the briefcase and she placed the goggles in one of her empty magazine holsters. If this is what Astamon was after, she wasn't going to let him have it.

The officers were already bringing assault rifles, rocket launchers, and various other weapons upstairs to use against Astamon. Hikari grabbed one of the guns for herself, a Chinese Type 56 variant of the Russian AK47. She ran back upstairs to see the officers already firing the weapons away at Astamon who didn't bother taking cover from the attack. She jumped back outside to join Henry who was using a machine pistol given to him by one of the officers to fire on Astamon, "We got the guns, now what?"

"Take him down!" Henry ordered, firing a burst of bullets at the ultimate digimon. As he did, Kabuterimon appeared from behind and slammed his claw down on Astamon, flattening him like a pancake. Or so it seemed, for Astamon appeared behind Kabuterimon and fired a barrage of bullets from his gun. Kabuterimon was thrown towards them and dedigivolved into Tentomon, "He's too strong!"

"Tentomon!" Terriermon screamed. He leapt up on top of the dumpster and spat out bubbles, "Bunny blast!"

"Terriermon! Look out!" Henry stood up to pull his partner out of harm's way, only for one of Astamon's bullets to land a hit on his chest. Henry's eyes widened and glazed over as he slumped against the wall. Terriermon saw this and leapt to his partner immediately, "Henry! Henry!"

"I'm fine," Henry sat himself up and rested his back against the wall, "Focus on Astamon."

"Nefertimon! How are you holding up?" Hikari asked. Nefertimon was high in the sky, staying just ahead of a stream of bullets shooting out of Astamon's gun, "I'm good. I just have to keep moving."

"Out of our fucking way!" a loud voice yelled. Hikari turned her head to see Revy jump kick an officer through the hole in the wall, sending the officer and his gun into the air. Revy held a metal briefcase in one hand and grabbed the officer's gun with her free hand, "Hey! Hurry your asses the fuck up!"

"Hold on, Dutch is hit!" Benny yelled, going through the hole next. He was armed with a pistol but the way he held lightly held it meant he never used one before. He fired two shots into the hole and shouted, "Rock! Move it!"

"Let's go Dutch!" Dutch's large figure appeared next. He held one arm over Rock's shoulder while the other was gripped tightly on his leg. Rock held a machine pistol in his hands and used it to shoot the officer next to him. Rock lowered Dutch to Benny before going through himself and raced towards Revy, "Let's get out of here!"

The four ran for the nearest car, but were stopped by Astamon jumping in front of them and firing his gun at the police, "You're late! The package! Do you have it!"

"You're our contact?" Rock said in disbelief, falling backwards and aiming a gun at the ultimate. Astamon grabbed the gun out of his hands and crushed, "The package!"

"We have it," Revy held up the brief case, "Now get us the fuck out of here!"

"Such a foul mouth!" Astamon said, throwing his coat over the pirates and firing his gun at the police, "Hold on!"

A dark mist enveloped Astamon and the Lagoon Company while they sank away into the ground. Hikari saw the mist and guessed the Dark Ocean right away. She felt the chills running down her body, but fought off the crippling fear long enough to rush them. She fired her gun at them angrily while shouting, "Get back here!"

"Rosetta Stone!" Nefertimon descended from above, a tablet appearing from a tablet on her back and flying towards Astamon. The attacks hit nothing; Astamon and Lagoon Company disappeared into the black mist. The mist dissipated into nothing, leaving only the battle scarred parking lot in front of the police station.

...

The police roped off the area of the battle while doctors from the local clinic took care of the wounded. As a small island away from the mainland which saw little crime, their police force was ill equipped for the fight earlier. The fact that there were no deaths was a miracle in itself. A quick search of the interrogation room holding the Lagoon Company found lock picks at the end of their handcuffs. How they managed to sneak lockpicks in when they were being arrested was anyone's guess. Koushiro was able to contact reinforcements, but they arrived long after Astamon and the others fled. The medical team were assisting with the injured; one in particular was taking care of Henry who needed to be taken to back to Tokyo right away.

Astamon's bullet smashed into one of his ribs and shattered. The bullet shrapnel was now all over the inside of his chest, but by some miracle the shrapnel was mostly embedded in his rib. Hikari and Koushiro watched as the medics placed him on a stretcher to be loaded onto one of the helicopters, while Terriermon sat on the edge of the stretcher. Before they could load him onboard, Henry said, "Hang on. Give me a minute to talk to my partners."

"Just a minute. You need to get your wound treated ASAP," the medic told him.

Henry thanked the man and looked at the others, "Koushiro, take point in our investigation for me. Head over to Miyake Jima and stop Astamon from doing whatever they're doing."

"The investigation is on hold," Koushiro answered, earning him surprised looks from everyone, "I got in contact with HQ like you said and they told me that they're diverting everyone to Miyake Jima Island right away. There's a lot of interdimensional fluxes and Yamaki thinks that's where what's left of Lucemon's army will bio emerge."

"That makes sense," Henry nodded, "Rokuro said that's where they had to deliver the briefcase."

"And there's one other thing too," Koushiro added sullenly, "They got Daisuke."

"What!"

"Say that again," Hikari said, her eyes wide with skepticism. Koushiro nodded and went on, "His team was investigating the exit points in Nagano when they were attacked Mephistomon. Ken says he, Wormmon, Miyako, and Hawkmon are fine. The Mephistomon focused on Daisuke and Veemon; it took off with them once they were both unconscious."

"They take Taichi, Agumon, and Gennai first. Then they want this briefcase. Now they've got Daisuke and Veemon," Henry said aloud, "You don't think they're taking us out, do you?"

"That wouldn't make sense," Tentomon chimed in, "They've had plenty of chances to take us out before. Why not do it then instead of one at a time?"

"If we knew what was in that briefcase, we could guess at what they're doing," Gatomon frowned.

"I think I have something that will help," Hikari said, she reached into her magazine holster and pulled out the broken goggles. She held it out for them to see while explaining, "I found Lagoon Company's briefcase in the evidence room while we were getting weapons. Takato's D-Arc went off as soon as I walked in and pointed towards it. I opened it and found this: Takato's goggles."

"Takato's goggles?" Tentomon flew up beside Hikari to get a better look, "Where did they get that?"

"I don't know," Hikari answered sheepishly.

"Taichi, Agumon, Gennai, Daisuke, Veemon, and Takato's goggles. What makes them so important?" Henry mused to himself. Hikari had to agree. What were they planning on doing with these anyway? Before she could ponder this any further, the medics appeared to load Henry onto the chopper, "We have to go now, sir."

"Right," Henry nodded, "Good luck guys."

"Thanks," Koushiro saluted him, "We'll come see you once this is all over!"

"They're all loaded in! Let's go!" the medic shouted to the pilot of the chopper. Hikari, Koushiro, Gatomon and Tentomon watched as the helicopter took to the air. They rechecked each of their weapons before boarding their own helicopter. The pilot looked back at them and asked, "How's Charlie-03?"

"They're taking him back to Tokyo for surgery," Koushiro answered, "I'm in charge now. We need to get to Miyake Jima! The order comes straight from the director!"

"Roger!" The pilot said. Their helicopter lifted off right away. As they zoomed east towards their next destination, Hikari gripped the goggles close to her chest. Was she doing the right thing? Astamon and whoever else worked with him wanted these goggles. The question remained; why? What were they going to do with goggles? More importantly, were Taichi and the others alright? It was bad enough that Taichi's life was at risk. Now she worried that Daisuke and Veemon could be the next ones to perish. She had to save them.

...

**Author's Notes**: Could Takato's goggles be a sign? Why did Lucemon's followers capture Daisuke? Found this out and more on the next chapter of Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard. My next update will be in eight weeks on Friday, February 24th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and analysis into the next chapter of the story. If you are attending Northern Illinois University and would like to chat, just PM me and we can meet face to face! Or add me on the Facebook or the Playstation Network (PSN ID leo112358). However, please let me know that you read these stories because I tend to ignore invites from random people I don't know. Until next time, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out!


	5. The Battle of Miyake Jima

Disclaimer: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon: Tamers belong to Bandai. Black Lagoon is a manga series written by Rei Hiroe and published by Shogakukan. Takato's Light is a story idea belonging to creepingshadow. Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard is a fan-based narrative intended to promote the original Digimon franchise. This is a not for profit story.

Author's Notes: Good evening fellow readers. I apologize that this update is coming up so late. To be honest, the work on this story really sucked my time away from Oyabun and that story suffered for it. This is the unfortunate cost of writing two fics simultaneously. I won't make excuses though, I budgeted my time poorly and I apologize. I want to thank my friend Kells who got this story back to me fast despite me getting it to her very late. I also apologize for any plot errors that are present. Now on to review responses:

JapanRules555: I'm glad you liked the story. If you want to know about the uniforms, the digidestined and tamers don't get them. They wear their school uniforms underneath their gear and carry around badges which allow them to walk around with guns. They also get paid to save the world, so it balances out.

ForbiddenLove100: Read and find out! You'll really like this chapter.

And now I provide the next chapter of Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard

Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard

Chapter 5: The Battle of Miyake Jima

Hikari closed her eyes for a quick nap. The excitement from Kozu Shima and Niijima was too much and she needed a short rest. As soon as she closed her eyes, she found herself in a large white room—the same white room where she first met Lord HolyAngemon and the other holy digimon. The room was empty though, except for four figures that stood by a doorway to the far side. Figures she recognized all too easily: Ophanimon, Cherubimon, Seraphimon, and...

"Lucemon," Ophanimon said to him as he walked past. Lucemon had a book in his hand which he was reading until Ophanimon called his attention. He closed the book right away and smiled, "Ophanimon, how are you?"

"Well," Ophanimon bowed, "Are you still reading the book The Creator gave you?"

"Yes. It is truly fascinating," Lucemon smiled at Ophanimon. It was a warm, gentle smile that looked almost natural. It was not the wicked smile she saw him adorn before. Lucemon went on to say, "The Creator told me the book exists on the edge of existence. It can show the past, the present, and the future."

"Isn't it dangerous to have that knowledge, Lucemon? To know something that will happen?" Cherubimon asked. Lucemon put a hand on Cherubimon's shoulder, "Not at all. What it shows isn't set in stone. It can show the future, but it need not happen. It can show the past, but it's not a past that has occurred. It can show the present, but it is not a present that is. For example, according to this book - either Seraphimon will either go mad in the next ten seconds, or he will offer us eternal wisdom."

Ten seconds went by in silence, with nothing happening. This made Lucemon laugh, "See? It is a strange book. The book guarantees that either of those two will happen, yet neither did. Strange, you see?"

The others joined Lucemon in laughter, but it quickly died when staves appeared in Ophanimon and Seraphimon's hands. The three celestial digimon took battle stances against Lucemon; Lucemon spread his wings, put his book away, and floated off the ground. Seraphimon turned to his two companions and said, "Don't take Lucemon lightly."

"Noted," Cherubimon said, before he lead the charge. The others followed after him, only for Lucemon to laugh. The three attacked and Lucemon easily side stepped each attack. He cracked his neck to the side and asked, "Are you done?"

"Stop holding back, Lucemon," Ophanimon said, "Show us your true strength!"

"Ophanimon! Seraphimon! Cherubimon!" Lord HolyAngemon flew into the room and landed before them, "You would start a session without me?"

"We tell you to be on time, don't we? Perhaps it would help you to have a watch?" Lucemon asked. Lord HolyAngemon threw off his robes to reveal thick white armor and a golden sword at his side. He drew the sword and said, "Let me go - one on one with Lucemon."

"HolyAngemon, that fight won't be even close to fair!" Cherubimon said in surprise. Lord HolyAngemon held the sword high and said, "Even a lowly ultimate, can slay a mega."

"Hope; the greatest curse and most blessed gift to us. It prolongs suffering but it gives the strength to go on when all else is lost," Lucemon mused aloud. The two combatants charged at each other. Hikari jolted awake as the two met in combat, left to ponder what exactly the dream meant. She glanced out the window and saw they were already landing in at the edge of a clearing in forested area. Soldiers from the Self-Defense Force were moving supply crates out of the back of a truck and looked to be preparing for war. A tent was set up in the middle of the clearing where Ken spoke with several armed men in military uniform.

Hikari's team left the helicopter to join Ken who greeted them with a nod, "Glad to see you're here. Meet Fireteam Library, from Japanese Special Forces Group. They're cooperating with us on this operation."

"Captain Doujou Atsushi - commander of Fireteam Library," the JSFG leader said. Hikari noted that he was roughly her height and about a head shorter than his two squad mates, "This is my squad: Lieutenant Asahina Hikaru, and Sergeant Kasahara Iku."

"Pleasure to meet you," Asahina said.

"Likewise," Kasahara smiled. Hikari thought it odd that Doujou was the commander for these two, especially since he was a full head shorter than them. Even Kasahara, a female soldier which was a rarity in its own right, managed to be significantly taller than him. Hikari had never heard of women in the military being allowed into combat, so seeing her here was definitely a surprise.

"Agent Izumi Koushiro and my partner Tentomon," Koushiro introduced himself, "And this is Agent Yagami Hikari and her partner Gatomon."

"Yeah, I remember you from the crisis a year ago," Doujou said, surprising Hikari, "It's kind of hard to forget a bunch of kids running out into a battlefield with monsters fighting alongside them."

"Getting back to the briefing," Ken interrupted them. He unfurled a map of the island and laid it down for them to see, "The fluxes center around the peak of Mt. Oyama. It's a semi-active volcano so the quicker we do this operation the better. The others are standing by at their positions around the peak to prevent civilians from getting near. The dimensional weaknesses are big, which means whatever is coming through is just as big or powerful. Miyako and Halsemon are flying around and doing recon on it. Their last communication ten minutes ago said a lot of Bakemon were gathering there - and there are four humans with them."

"Must be Lagoon Company," Koushiro nodded, "When do we move in?"

"As soon as the director gets here," Ken explained, "Until then, we load up on gas masks and ammo. The operation will play out like this: We move in and surround the digimon once we're given the order. Once there, we're to identify any Ultimates or higher. We mark the Champions and below for the JSFG to fire smoke grenades and flash bangs at. We'll use the confusion to digivolve the digimon and cut them off from the more powerful ones. We'll give them one chance to surrender. Just one. If they don't comply, Yamaki has authorized shoot to kill."

"Isn't that a bit excessive? One chance to surrender or we kill them?" Tentomon asked. Ken frowned and added, "I don't like it and neither does Yamaki. This order comes straight from the Prime Minister. He doesn't want another repeat of 'The Incident' here on Miyake Jima, especially since Mt. Oyama is a semi-active volcano. He wants the situation contained and controlled before things get out of hand."

"Do we take orders from the Prime Minister?" Hikari asked.

"We do when he has the JSFG working with us," Ken frowned. Doujou looked at Ken with an annoyed expression that made Ken recoil in surprise. It was a funny sight when you realized Ken was slightly taller than Doujou, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about us like we weren't here."

"Sorry," Ken said in a tone indicating the opposite. Doujou looked about ready to punch Ken until they all heard another helicopter fly by over head. It touched down beside the one Hikari's team arrived in and the door slid open to reveal Yamaki and his assistant Riley. Riley was taking notes on a tablet computer of everything Yamaki said, "Tell Tally to keep monitoring the situation and let me know if anything happens. When Shibumi and the others find out what's going to come out, tell them to let me know. Ichijouji, tell me something good."

"Everything's almost ready to go Director," Ken said, "We're just waiting for Miyako to check in and then our team will move into position."

"Well, tell her to hurry up!" Yamaki barked, "The Prime Minister and the National Diet aren't too happy that it's taking this long for results. We have one hour left until Legion's ultimatum and I don't want to waste any more time than we have."

"Yes sir," Ken saluted. He clicked a radio on his side and spoke into it, "Bravo-02, come in, over."

"Bravo-02 here," Miyako's voice said back, "No change since last check in. Returning to base, over."

"Negative, head to your staging point and meet with the rest of your team there," Yamaki said, taking a hold of Ken's radio. Miyako's voice came back to confirm the order and their team grabbed their equipment before leaving. The SFG went along with Hikari, Gatomon, Koushiro, Wormmon, Koushiro and Tentomon on a ten minute hike up a steep path until they came upon a small level clearing. Miyako was waiting for them there with Halsemon at her side. Miyako blew a kiss their way and smiled, "It's about time you guys showed up!"

"Here," Doujou tossed two gas masks at Miyako and Halsemon, "The fumes up there are dangerous. Put them on before we head up."

While everyone put their gas masks on, Ken spoke into his radio, "Bravo-05 to command, we're in position and standing by for your order."

Without missing a beat, Yamaki's voice spoke back, "This is Director Mitsuo broadcasting to all units in the field. Operation New Dawn is go! I say again, Operation New Dawn is go!"

"That's our cue," the Lieutenant Doujou said to his team, "Kasahara, take point. Get us up there quietly."

"Yes sir," Kasahara saluted. She shouldered her assault rifle and ascended up the hill first with her gun trained upwards. Doujou went up right behind her, followed by the DATA operatives, and finally Asahina. Hikari could feel the tension in the air as they went further up hill. A loud rhythmic chanting was all Hikari could hear-the same she heard in the cave at Niijima. She looked down at Gatomon who returned it with an expression of worry. It was about another minute before the words could be heard clearly, "Sanguis bibimus, Corpus edibus! Sanguis bibimus, Corpus edibus! Ave! Ave! Versus Formator! Ave! Ave! Versus Formator! Ave Bagramon!"

"Anyone understand what they're saying?" Miyako whined as they went up the hill.

"Sounds Spanish," the sergeant whispered back, "But I don't understand a word of it."

"It's Latin," Lieutenant Doujou explained, "They're worshipping something called the Anti-Creator. I don't know what that last word is, but I think it means Gabriel."

"Gabriel?" Hikari repeated. She never got her answer because just a short distance from the peak, they saw a bright flash of light. As soon as they got to the peak, they dropped to the ground to hide themselves. They looked down into the crater that led to the throat of the volcano. As Ken said earlier, there was a large gathering of digimon - most of which were Bakemon. There were a scattering of Devimon, Deviwomon, NeoDevimon, Demidevimon, Skullsatamon, and other dark digimon. Hikari saw the four members of Lagoon Company to the side, who watched the digimon perform their ritualistic chant with half hearted interest.

"Bravo-04 in position," Ken whispered into the radio.

"Alpha-07, in position," Takeru's voice said over the radio.

"Bravo-03, in position," Iori's voice said next.

"Charlie-02, in position," came the voice of Rika, one of the female Digimon tamers.

"Charlie-07, in position," was the voice of Ai, a young tamer who shared a partner with her twin brother Mako.

"All teams are cleared to move to phase two," Yamaki's voice said back. Doujou passed a pair of binoculars to Hikari and explained, "Mark targets for us."

Hikari brought the binoculars up to her eyes and stared down at the targets below, "I see a lot of Bakemon, the ones that look like ghosts. There are five Devimon - the black ones that look like demons. Those seven green ones are Ogremon. The big one there is a Devidramon. That's all I see at the...wait."

"What do you see?" Lieutenant Doujou asked.

"I don't believe it," Hikari whispered. Hikari had to refocus the binoculars to make sure what she saw wasn't a hallucination. The Bakemon were dragging Taichi and Agumon towards the center. Agumon struggled against his captors but Taichi was limp and motionless. Hikari's heart stopped when it occurred to her that Taichi was dead. She didn't want to believe it though. He couldn't be dead. The Bakemon proceeded to bring out Daisuke and Veemon, dragging them towards the center while they kicked and screamed. The four were brought to the very center where there were six stone stables in the center arranged in two rows of three. Taichi's limp body was placed on the table farthest to the left, with Agumon opposite him. Daisuke and Veemon were tied to the middle table. Astamon came into view with a large skeletal digimon with horns and a white robe. Beside him was Gennai, who had been tied up with ropes and thrown to the ground. Before she could see what happened next, Koushiro yanked the binoculars out of her hands, "Hikari! Focus! What's going on?"

"It's Tai," she said, her gaze still fixed on the center, "He wasn't moving."

"Dammit," Koushiro whispered, "Look, you guys go ahead with the operation. Hikari, we're going back to base right away."

"No, not until we get Tai back!" Hikari spat at him angrily. Koushiro shook his head, "You'll risk the operation. Head back before-"

Takato's old D-Arc hummed to life again, flashing a bright light while beeping. Hikari panicked and pulled it out to see why it was going off. The screen displayed an image of a one-eyed horned Digimon with the label Parallelmon beneath it. Hikari cocked her head to the side in confusion, "What is this?"

"I told you she'd bring it," a hissing voice said. Hikari looked up from the screen and found herself in the center of the volcano surrounded by Bakemon. The digimon from the D-Arc was staring down at her, "Welcome, child of light."

Hikari drew her pistol and pointed the gun at it, firing off two rounds before the digimon grabbed the gun out of her hands. It crushed the gun with its fist and pinned Hikari to the ground.

"Can we move this along, Parallelmon?" Astamon appeared beside it, "We're on a time table and the humans are making their move. Slow, though it is."

"Yes, I'll take that," Parallelmon opened the holster with Takato's goggles. It pulled the goggles out and then took his D-Arc, "This will do. Take her."

"Hikari! Leave her alone!" Daisuke cried out. Astamon laughed as he took Hikari out of Parallelmon's hands, "Or what? You're harmless there."

"If you touch a hair on her head, I'll-" Daisuke was unable to finish because his mouth shot closed when Parallelmon snapped his fingers. With an annoyed look, Parallelmon noted, "That one has been loud the entire time."

"We'll be needing this," Astamon said while taking Hikari's radio off her, "A little bit of insurance always helps."

Parallelmon then placed the goggles on the table next to Daisuke and the D-Arc opposite it. Parallelmon laughed enthusiastically as he went to the skeletal digimon in the white cape, "Everything is ready, General Bagramon."

"Do it," Bagramon said. Hikari's shuddered upon hearing Bagramon's voice. She knew that voice. That was the voice of Legion. Parallelmon squealed with excitement as a bright light enveloped the six tables in the center. Parallelmon floated up into the air and hovered just above the center of the six tables, muttering to itself incoherently, "I can see it...the residual energy ...where is it going ...where are you?"

"General, the humans are making their move," Astamon said.

BANG!

BOOM!

KAPOW!

FLASH!

Several gas bombs went off in and around the area, followed by the bright flashes of digivolution. A commanding voice screamed through a megaphone, "Attention digimon! This is the JSDF and DATA. This is your first and final warning: surrender yourselves to our custody or we will open fire."

"Mephistomon, give these whelps our answer," Bagramon laughed. A digimon resembling a walking goat with demon's wings walked forward and snapped his fingers. The Devimon held out their hands and cried out in one loud voice, "Death Hand!"

They fired beams of energy out of their hands at the DATA operatives and the SDF. The sound of gunfire filled the air while the partners of the digidestined rushed the battlefield. At that same time, Daisuke, Veemon, Agumon, and Taichi started screaming out in agony. Hikari couldn't bear to see them in pain and wanted to help them. She struggled against Astamon to little avail, with the ultimate laughing at her efforts, "Don't worry child. It will all be over soon."

"What are you doing to them?" Hikari demanded furiously.

"Do you know Parallelmon's true power?" Astamon asked her, "It is the ability to travel worlds and dimensions; the power to alter fate and change destiny, and he starts by changing the destiny of the chosen children. He is going to kill the-"

"Astamon, that's enough," Bagramon barked at the ultimate, "They don't need to know. They won't need too once we're done here, so focus on holding back those Chosen Children."

"What about the humans?"

"What about them?" Bagramon leered angrily. Astamon understood and dropped Hikari to the ground before leaping into the battlefield with gun in hand. Hikari picked herself up and ran towards Daisuke who screamed out in intense agony. Hikari fiddled with the ropes tying him down, trying to find where the knots began and ended. Oddly, even though her hands touched the light that connected Daisuke to Parallelmon, she didn't feel any pain. As much as she tried, she couldn't get the knot undone, so she did the next best thing. She pulled a knife out from her utility belt and started cutting away at the ropes, until she felt a hand grab her neck from behind and hoist her way. She turned around to see Bagramon, "There's no need to be doing that."

"Why are you doing this?" Hikari demanded of the Mega. Bagramon cocked his head to the side and examined her from head to toe. The look in his eyes was a cold, analytical gaze - no different from the look of a hunter that wanted to toy with its prey. After a while, Bagramon chuckled, "To kill the first Chosen Child."

"The first? You mean, Tai!" Hikari panicked aloud, "Don't you touch him!"

Bagramon tightened his grip on Hikari's neck, squeezing so hard that she could barely breathe, "Don't flatter yourself. No, the first chosen child isn't from this world because this isn't the first world. Parallelmon has the power to kill this child but he first needs to find him. Fragments of the first child can be found in this world, and they can be traced back to the first child. That is what we're doing."

"Thanks for the heads up!" Takeru appeared behind Bagramon, aiming his gun at the Mega. With him were Iori and the digital fusion of their two partners: Shakkoumon. Iori leveled a gun on Bagramon and shouted, "Shakkoumon, get Parallelmon! TK and I will get Bagramon!"

Shakkoumon whizzed past Bagramon and tackled Parallelmon. The attack momentarily distracted the digimon long enough for the light enveloping Parallelmon and the others to vanish. Bagramon saw the interference with his plan and furiously cried out, "NO!"

In his rage, Bagramon threw Hikari at Takeru and rushed Shakkoumon. Hikari hit Takeru and the two fell to the ground with a thud. Iori helped Hikari scramble to her feet off Takeru, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. TK?"

"I'm fine," Takeru answered. At that moment, Shakkoumon crashed into the ground beside them with enough force to shake the ground and dedigivolved to Patamon and Armadillomon. Takeru and Iori were at their partners' sides right away, scooping the tiny rookies into their arms. Takeru looked the most worried, saying to his partner, "Hang in there Patamon!"

Hikari saw the worry in Takeru's eyes and understood why. He lost Patamon once in the past because he sacrificed himself to defeat a powerful foe. Of course, digimon don't really die. Not in the Digital World. In that instance, they're simply reformatted and sent to Primary Village where they can be reborn and start life over again. TK's loss was less permanent because Patamon simply came back. This wouldn't be the case in the Real World. They can come close to death in one of two ways. First, their data is absorbed by another digimon before they can reformat. The other occurs when they are defeated in the Real World. In that case, their data can't reformat and is left to materialize the emotions, thoughts, and spirit of the Digimon.

In this case, the latter was likely to happen if any of their partners were killed. Hikari took the gun from TK's hand and cocked the hammer back. TK was in no condition to fight, nor were Iori, Patamon, or Armadillomon. She took a moment to see the battle around her. Clouds of data swirled all around her - data belonging to the defeated digimon. Beyond that, she watched soldiers from the SDF firing their weapons at the ever advancing Bakemon; the Bakemon used themselves as fodder for the Devimon and Deviwomon behind them to attack the unaware soldiers. Overhead, Sakuyamon and Justimon were locked in a losing battle with Mephistomon. The other digidestined and their partners tried to help but were persistently cut off by Astamon, the ultimate from earlier. Astamon was clearly more powerful than he led them to believe, as he batted around the others with little effort.

Hikari returned her attention to Parallelmon in time to witness him retake his place in the center of the tables and begin the process of finding the first Chosen Child again. To her horror, Tai, Daisuke, Veemon and Agumon started screaming again. She ran to help them, but was cut off by Bagramon, "Where do you think you're going? Do you really plan on being the big hero? You're worthless friend."

These words struck a nerve and Hikari started shaking furiously with rage, a display that made Bagramon laugh considerably. Hikari leveled her gun at Bagramon and shouted, "Takato sacrificed his life to save both Digital World and Real World. To let them be destroyed would be to let his sacrifice be in vain. I'll honor his sacrifice, and everything he saved, by stopping all the threats to it! That means Parallelmon has to die!"

Bagramon shook his head disappointedly and stepped between Hikari and the mega. With a glance over his shoulder, he solemnly asked, "Parallelmon, how much more time will you need?"

"Whatever you can get me," Parallelmon answered, "Once I find the first child, I can end the battle before it started. Until then, hold them off."

"Then I'll give you all the time in the world," Bagramon said. He raised his large, disfigured white arm into the air and shouted, "Choujigen Storm!"

A strong gust of swirled around his arm and formed a tornado. It twisted as he moved his arm and pointed itself straight at Hikari. Hikari grabbed on to one of the tables and held tight as the strong wind tried to suck her in. The gust lifted her off her feet but Hikari only tightened her grip, looking back just to aim her gun. She lined up the shot, aiming for one of his eyes, and squeezed the trigger. There was a bang when the hammer clicked. Bagramon staggered back with a hand over his face and the tornado dissipated. Hikaru used this momentary confusion to run at Bagramon firing her gun as she got closer. Hikari jumped onto the distracted Bagramon's back and started firing her gun into his back until it stopped clicking. At that point she started to hit him with it until he finally reached for his back and threw her away, "Get off me, human!"

As Hikari flew through the air, she took the chance to put a fresh clip of ammo into the gun and lined up a shot at Parallelmon. She fired off two shots knowing they'd hit their mark, until Bagramon once again jumped in front and took the hits. He didn't flinch from either of those shots but he had a hand over the right side of his face, "That was a cheap trick, shooting me in the eye."

"Stay out of my way then," Hikari barked at the Mega. Bagramon laughed at her command and glided his way down to her. She fired her gun at the Digimon, who took the hits one at a time like they were nothing. Hikari saw her shots had no effect and rolled underneath Bagramon to get behind him. With a clear view, she leveled her gun one more time at Parallelmon and squeezed the trigger. At the same moment, something grabbed her from behind and the bullet fired away into the sky. It was Bagramon, who grabbed her hair to yank her to the ground, "No you don't."

"I found him!" Parallelmon shouted, "I found the first child!"

"It appears we've won, Child of Light," Bagramon smiled at her wickedly. Hikari was paralyzed with horror at the idea of failing to protect the world Takato died to save. Parallelmon became as bright as the sun, illuminating the entire battlefield around him like day light. They had lost.

Or so Hikari thought, until she heard Parallelmon shriek in surprise, "Wait! What is this? This isn't the...it's a trick! I've been tricked! You're not the first child! No! GO AWAY! PLEASE!"

"Parallelmon! What's wrong?" Bagramon demanded of the digimon.

"Curse you! LONG LIVE LORD LUCEMON!" Parallelmon let out an ear splitting shriek as a blast of energy blew everyone around it away. The flash of bright light was blinding and the force it hit her with was enough to knock her back down on her feet. Strangely, it didn't hurt. On the contrary, it felt warm and inviting. For a moment, Hikari was in a blissful daze that she didn't want to end. It was punctuated with an unexpected but wanted voice, "Hikari."

Hikari opened her eyes and could only see bright light shining at her. She moved her hand in front of her face and squinted her eyes, but couldn't see anything. All she could make out were distorted voices all around her. Voices that didn't seem to be coming from anywhere in particular, but she could hear them all the same.

"Lucemon has turned against the Creator. What would you have me do, Lord HolyAngemon?" one voice said.

"To think it would come to this. The Celestial Three; Lord HolyAngemon, MetalSeadramon, Sorcerymon, and Lord Lucemon? What should we do?" another asked.

"You fight me, because you don't know the true enemy. What if I told you we were locked in an endless cycle of war? The true enemy perpetuates this cycle by denying either side victory."

"If we want a chance to end this war, we'll have to kill the King!"

Through all the noise, she heard Bagramon's voice, "What is this? Where's Parallelmon?"

The light dimmed slightly enough for Hikari to see Bagramon in front of her, looking at a shadowy figure marching towards him. It was shorter than Bagramon, but still a few inches taller than herself. As it stepped out of the light, Hikari saw white armor with a golden trim and red pauldrons. The figure wore a white helmet with a red dragon's mask over the face shield. There was a red cape over his armor that fluttered behind him. Strapped to his back was a large white shield with a gold trim and a white lance with a red trim. A red dinosaur that stood a head taller walked alongside the figure clad in white armor. As she got a closer look, she could see that it looked like a short Gallantmon. The knight strode over to the tables on the far end to claim Takato's D-Arc and goggles. Bagramon took a step back in disbelief, "You, it can't be!"

Hikari was transfixed by the knight as he came up to her and knelt down to offer her a hand. Hikari took his hand and he pulled her up. She looked into the knight's eyes and saw his eyes were brown, not yellow like other Gallantmon. They were soft and gentle but, more importantly, familiar. As she looked into his eyes, a thought came to mind that filled her with hope, "Takato?"

The Gallantmon took his helmet in his hands and lifted it off his head. Time stopped for Hikari. It couldn't be. It had to be a trick. It just wasn't possible. At the same time, she wanted to believe it was real—that this moment was happening. That it wasn't just another dream. She put a hand on his face and felt the warmth of his skin. He took her hand in his and whispered, "Hikari."

"Is... Is this real?" she asked him. He nodded, "It is. I'm back."

Hikari felt the tears well up in her eyes, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace and burying her face into his armor. She felt Takato's arms around her and she tilted her head up to see Takato smiling at her. She leaned in and pressed her lips tightly against Takato's. This was real. This wasn't a dream. For a brief moment, she was happy.

"How touching," Bagramon said. Takato and Hikari pulled away from each other while Takato's dinosaur partner stepped between. Just from looking at the dinosaur, Hikari wagered a guess that it was Guilmon. Bagramon raised his hand over his head and declared, "It's a shame this reunion will end tragically. Choujigen Storm!"

Another twister appeared around his hand. Hikari felt Takato grab on to her and pulled her close, "Hold on."

The twister sucked them and Guilmon in. As the tornado whipped them around, Takato drew his lance and explained, "Hikari. I need you to trust me on this. When I say go, throw me as hard as you can at that digimon. Guilmon will make sure you land safely!"

"What about you? I'm not losing you again!" Hikari said back worriedly. Takato just smiled at her; it was a smile that put her at ease. In a calm voice he asked, "Do you trust me?"

"I do," she answered.

"Then throw me. Right...about...now!" Takato said. Hikari grabbed onto Takato's arm and threw him down at Bagramon with all her might. As she did, the strong current sent her up higher into Guilmon's arms. A downward glance showed her Takato striking Bagramon with his lance, canceling his attack. Bagramon staggered back and the tornado dissipated. Hikari and Guilmon plummeted to the ground but, to her surprise, Guilmon landed softly. She glanced at his back and took note of a set of angel's wings - a strange sight since she hadn't see Takato use his D-Arc to modify the monster.

"Thanks, Guilmon," Hikari said as he set her down. Over by the tables, Bagramon was still staggering; he held an arm over a scratch on his armor and leered at Takato angrily, "The power to break my armor. I see you still have some of his power. No matter."

"General," Astamon landed beside him, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Bagramon hissed, gasping for breath, "We did what we came here to do. Tell the soldiers to fall back. We return to Megido!"

"What about Parallelmon, sir?" Astamon asked.

"He served his purpose. Now give the order!" Bagramon ordered, "And leave the human mercenaries - they're expendable."

"Yes sir," Astamon threw his coat over the two of them and they vanished into a thick black mist. Shortly after, Mephistomon and the others started to vanish as well into wisps of thick black mist. The mist sent chills down Hikari's spine as it drifted by her, freezing her to where she stood. An overwhelming dread wiped over her and she lost all will to move. At least until she heard her brother's groans. He needed help. He needed her.

Fighting the fear, Hikari forced herself forward one step at a time towards her brother. When she finally got to her table, she undid the knots tying her brother down and shook his body to wake him. He opened his eyes and looked up at her quietly, "Kari?"

"Yeah Tai, it's Kari," she answered him. He looked at her with a tired expression, with eyes that looked sad and pained. She supported his back and stood her brother up. He closed his eyes and slid back into unconsciousness. Hikari was relieved to know her brother was alright and went to untie Agumon, while Takato and Guilmon were already working on freeing Daisuke and Veemon.

"Takato! You're alive?" Daisuke asked him. Takato didn't answer as he undid the knots and released Daisuke. Daisuke shot up right away and jumped onto his feet, "Thanks."

Hikari finally managed to untie Agumon's rope and watched as the rookie ran over to Taichi's side immediately, "Tai! Tai! Are you okay?"

"Agumon," Taichi mumbled as he slipped in and out of consciousness. Agumon looked to the others and said, "We have to get him help, right away!"

"Kari! " Gatomon smiled as she leapt into Hikari's arms, "I'm glad you're alright. I have no idea how they did it, but I was so scared when I saw that they had you!"

"I'm happy that you're safe too," Hikari embraced her partner close, "Are the other's alright?"

"We're fine Hik-" Jeri's began only to stop mid sentence as she walked up to them. Her tone shifted to one of surprise, "I...I don't believe it."

"Jeri, what're you...Goggle head!" Rika said in surprise.

"No way!"

Surprised voices were all Hikari heard as everyone looked past her to Takato and Guilmon. Takato was busy untying Gennai and undid the cloth over his mouth, "Are you alright, Gennai?"

"Amazing," Gennai stammered, "You're back. How is this possible?"

Takato remained silent and pulled the last of the ropes off. Gennai stood up and dusted himself off, "Thank you, Takato."

By this time, the other digidestined and tamers were gathered around the tables and looking at Takato in amazement. Takato walked towards them and came to a stop once he was at Hikari's side. He looked unnerved by all the stares he was getting, but still managed to smile. He cast a sideways glance at Hikari and greeted, "Hey guys."

...

Hikari walked alongside the stretcher her brother was strapped to while the some medics attended to him. They rushed him into the back of a helicopter while asking one medic, "Is he going to be alright?"

"Too early to tell, ma'am."

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked the man as they loaded Taichi onto the helicopter.

"Sorry ma'am. The most you can do now is let us do our job," the medic said while the others secured the stretcher. The medic slammed the helicopter door shut and it took to the air, leaving her behind. Hikari frowned at her helplessness. The medic told her while assessing Taichi that her brother lost a lot of blood - too much blood to still be alive. Agumon explained that Parallelmon was using some strange power to keep him alive, but it didn't relieve the pain from the bullet wound or the blood loss.

As Agumon put it, the experience was unbelievably painful for Taichi although he refused to let them know it. He added that Taichi kept trying to break free and escape, going so far as to knee Astamon in the groin. Taichi never was one to just lay down and die without a fight, so knowing that he put up a fight was comforting for her. She let out a sigh and turned back to the camp where even more wounded were awaiting transport.

Agumon, Daisuke, Veemon, and Gennai were unharmed despite being held hostage by some of the most evil digimon alive. Unfortunately, the operation did result in a few casualties. Some of the Special Forces Group were brutally killed. One poor soldier in particular was grabbed by several of Bakemon and torn apart at the limbs. Another was impaled through the chest with the arm of a Devimon. Even Fireteam Library suffered losses. Doujou was killed when he pushed his squad mate Kasahara out of the path of Astamon's gun. Kasahara appeared exceptionally devastated by the loss since she refused to leave her commander's body. Asahina explained that the two were secretly seeing each other because it was against ethical standards to have a relationship with a subordinate/commanding officer.

Hikari went straight to the tent in the center of the clearing, where the other digidestined and tamers were gathering. Two of the SFG soldiers were stationed at the entrance to keep them out, while inside Yamaki spoke with Gennai, Guilmon, and Takato.

Hikari didn't like being ripped apart from Takato so quickly after being reunited with him, but knew better than to cross Yamaki. She joined the others who were busy trying to get into the tent only for the guards to keep pushing them back.

"Have you heard anything, Rika?" Hikari asked. Rika was a tall girl about Hikari's age dressed in black DATA fatigues. Unlike the others, she refused to wear her school uniform under standard issue gear - claiming it made her look girly. She had her hair tied up at the back of her head, making her look more masculine than she really was. For this reason, most thought Rika was a girl at first glance.

"Just whispers. Yamaki doesn't want anybody to see him until they're done talking," she explained. Right then, Yamaki and Gennai emerged from within the tent. Yamaki's normally blank face was now uneasy while Gennai looked more terrified. Yamaki looked from Gennai to the guards and said, "Let them in."

They all filed inside and instantly barraged Takato with questions.

"Is it really you?"

"What's death like?"

"How did you come back?"

"Where have you been?"

"Where did you get that awesome armor?"

"Is this joust real?"

"Enough!" Yamaki said with a commanding tone. Instantly, everyone quieted down as Yamaki pushed his way through them and stood next to Takato, "I understand you're all excited and have questions, but there's one thing we need to go before that. I want to be very clear about this so pay attention: no human outside of DATA is allowed to know Takato is alive except for his parents. That means: don't tell your friends or your families. Now that we have that out of the way, Gennai can say what he has to."

"Thank you," Gennai nodded, shifting his gaze from Yamaki to Takato uneasily, "I apologize if I pause every so often. This whole thing has made...it difficult to think straight. The enemy you fought...today was the Legion. They were some of the strongest digimon...in service to the Creator as well as Lucemon's personal army. Their leader...is Bagramon, who they all refer to as...General. Bagramon was a very powerful...digimon whose loyalty rested only with Lucemon. He...was also...very cunning and ingenious with his plans. I know you may...not like to hear it, but today's victory...only means Bagramon wanted us to win."

"Hold on a minute. Bagramon said his plan was to kill the first chosen child," Hikari pointed out, "The reason he kidnapped Taichi, Agumon, Daisuke, Veemon, Takato's D-Arc and goggles was because they're all connected to this first person."

"Bagramon is...a master of deception," Gennai answered, "He wanted us to win. His true goal wasn't...killing the first chosen child. Which is why you're here. Whatever his real goal is, it...involves Takato and we...can't allow him to achieve it. The only way to...guarantee Bagramon loses is...to kill Takato."

...

Author's Notes: Takato has to die? What is Bagramon's real plan? Will Hikari be able to kill the lover of her life? Found this out and more on the next chapter of Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard. My next update will be in eight weeks on Friday, April 20th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and analysis into the next chapter of the story. If you are attending Northern Illinois University and would like to chat, just PM me and we can meet face to face! Or add me on the Facebook or the Playstation Network (PSN ID leo112358). However, please let me know that you read these stories because I tend to ignore invites from random people I don't know. Until next time, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out!


	6. Matsuda Family Reunion

**Disclaimer**: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon: Tamers belong to Bandai. Kino's Journey is a light novel written by Keichi Sigsawa.. Takato's Light is a story idea belonging to creepingshadow. Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard is a fan-based narrative intended to promote the original Digimon franchise. This is a not for profit story.

**Author's Notes**: Good evening my dear readers. Due to time crunches, I just barely managed to find enough time to write this story on top of all the other things I had to do. Because of that, I apologize for any grammatical errors or continuity errors that occur. I apologize if my nitpicky attitude missed a few errors. On that note, I want to give a big thanks to my editor Kells who has been editing this story from the beginning and is also getting married in May. I send Kells my best wishes and hopes for married life. Also a bagel with cream cheese and coffee, but that is for unrelated reasons involving a rabid squirrel called Soapy. Or something like that. With that out of the way, it's time for the regular review response time:

**Forbiddenlove100**: I admit to nothing! You'll just have to read to find out!

**JapanRules555**: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

**Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard**

**Chapter 6: Matsuda Family Reunion**

"Are you serious!" Hikari yelled out angrily, putting a hand on her gun and moving between Takato and the others, "I'm not going to let that happen."

Takato put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around, "Hikari, Gennai and Yamaki don't want to let it happen. I'm the one who wants to do it."

"What? Why?" Hikari couldn't believe what she was hearing. Takato was the one who asked to die? He can't die! He just came back! Hikari wasn't going to lose him again.

"If Gennai is right and Bagramon's end goal involves me, then the only way guaranteed to foil his plan is to kill me," Takato explained, "Gennai and Yamaki weren't for it. Which is why they wanted you guys here. They were hoping you could talk me out of it."

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard out of your mouth, gogglehead," Rika protested, "Do you honestly think that we'd let you go ahead and kill yourself just as you come back? Forget it!"

"I'm with Rika on this," TK answered, "If we're careful about this, then we shouldn't have to worry about whatever Bagramon's plan is. We can buy ourselves time and think of a plan to beat him."

"But that's just it. We don't know Bagramon's plan," Takato pointed out, "We have no idea what he's trying to do, or if he's trying to do anything at all."

"The key will be finding out whatever his plan is," Renamon chimed in, "If we can find out his real plan, we can plan a way to stop it."

"Okay, how?" Takato said angrily, becoming more frustrated with them, "Because if you can think of a way to do that without also helping him, I'm all ears."

"Geez, gogglehead. What's your deal? Do you have sand in your underwear?" Rika said sarcastically. For a moment, Takato snapped and looked ready to tackle Rika to ground. He was stopped only by Ryo who calmly explained Rika's meaning, "I think what Rika's trying to say is we should stop and take a moment to think this through a little more clearly. A lot happened today, so it'd be best if we all take a break before we make any decisions this big."

This didn't help Takato, who became much more frustrated, "Am I the only one here who realizes we don't have that kind of time?"

"Takato, listen to your friends," Yamaki said, "Take a deep breath and relax. We have agents all over the world who can keep an eye out for Bagramon. Besides, I'm sure you'd like to see your parents."

"My parents?" Takato repeated quietly, dumbfounded as if he never considered them at all, "Yeah, yeah I would. Where are they?"

"We don't know. Yamaki gave them new names and relocated them about a year ago after our fight with Lucemon," Ryo answered. That part really caught Takato's attention, "What, why?"

"The government used you as a scapegoat for the D-Reaper attack, remember?" Yamaki explained calmly, "You're really not popular in Japan right now. Everyone here gets a hard time because they knew you. Your parents got the worst of it, though. I pulled a lot of strings with my superiors, but I was eventually able to relocate them under false identities."

"Can I see them?" Takato asked. Yamaki nodded, "That was the plan, but you can't see them wearing that. The last thing you'll want is to draw attention to yourself."

Takato looked down at the suit of armor he was wearing and looked annoyed, "I guess you're right."

"Where did you get that anyway?" Iori asked, holding up the red cape that fell down behind Takato's back. Hikari noted the confused look on Takato's face, as if he had no idea what the answer was, "I don't know. The last thing I remember before the fight with Bagramon was... being with Hikari at the beach on File Island. There's nothing between that and waking up here on... where are we anyway?"

"Miyake Jima," Yamaki answered, "Come on. We'll take you back to headquarters, get you a change of clothes, and then take you to your parents."

From there, everyone got on board separate helicopters to go back to Shinjuku. Hikari and Gatomon rode in the same chopper as Yamaki, Gennai, Takato, and Guilmon. Gatomon was tired from the day's events and curled up in Hikari's lap to sleep. Hikari was just as tired as Gatomon, but found it impossible to sleep at the moment. Sitting across from her was Takato who listened carefully to Gennai and Yamaki as they tried to figure out what Bagramon's real plan was. Occasionally, he would shoot a sideward glance in her direction and smile before returning his attention to Gennai and Yamaki.

Hikari could feel her face going red every time he looked in her direction. It didn't make sense, but Takato looked like he aged a year even though he had been dead. It wasn't a bad thing - it certainly made him more mature and handsome. It just raised questions - if he had been dead, why did he look like he aged and where did he get the armor he was wearing? There was also a different air about him - an air of battle-hardened experience, yet world-wary. And although he didn't show it outwardly, Hikari could see it every time he glanced in her direction. Something was bothering him, but now wasn't the time to ask.

But that bothered Hikari. He was keeping things from her and it made her uneasy. This was neglecting the part where he was ready to take his own life a few moments ago. She was thankful that he was talked out of it, but knowing that he was willing to go that far... scared her. It truly terrified her, just to think that she might lose him again.

It was morning when they arrived in Shinjuku. As soon as they landed, everyone took off their equipment, clocked out for the night, and went home. A digiport was opened for Gennai to return to the Digital World, while Yamaki took Takato to one of DATA's physicians for a quick medical exam. Yamaki then left to report to his superiors, leaving Hikari by herself. She wanted to be with Takato, but figured he'd rather be alone when he went to see his parents so she decided to look into where her brother was. He was admitted to Emergency Receiving in Okubo Hospital, near the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, where two DATA agents were keeping guard over him. Hikari went straight to the hospital where she found the two agents from the UN standing guard outside his room. Agents Shizu and Kino.

They were wearing more casual clothing compared to what they wore at the UN. Kino was dressed in a white sweater under matching green jacket and pants. Shizu wore a pair of black slacks underneath a gray turtle neck sweater. Both were doing very little to hide their weapons, and stood very close to the door with a warning look. Hikari showed them her badge as she continued towards the door, but was stopped by Shizu stepping in front of her, "Sorry ma'am, no one can see him. It's the director's orders."

"I'm his sister!" Hikari said, "And my clearance is higher than yours! Let me through."

"It's the director's orders," Shizu said again, "No one can see Chief until the director has a chance to talk to him. You can try calling the director if you want, but he made it clear that no one can see Chief Yagami."

Hikari opened her mouth to protest when the door slid open to reveal Taichi's tired face looking out with curiosity, "Hey, Kari. What's up?"

"Tai, you're alright!" Hikari breathed with relief. Her brother cocked up a smile and said, "Hey Kari. I thought I heard your voice out here. Come in. These guys won't let me out so it'll be nice to have some company."

"Chief, with all due respect, the Director said-"

"It's fine. And tell Yamaki I can take care of myself," Taichi dismissed her while ushering Hikari in. He closed the door shut behind her. Hikari didn't waste any time in hugging her older brother right away. She jumped off as soon as Taichi yelped in pain and apologized, "Sorry."

"I'm fine," Taichi winced, holding an arm around his waist. Hikari saw bandaged wounds on his abdomen and a brace around his chest. It looked anything but fine, but she knew it was better to leave it be. Taichi was incredibly stubborn when it came to how much punishment he was taking. Even during the battle with Piedmon, she remembered wanting nothing more than to help her brother even though he kept insisting he was fine and could keep fighting by himself.

Taichi limped himself back into his bed and sat down. There was a tray of food on his bedside table; a glass of water, a bowl of miso soup, a bowl of white rice, and a filleted fish. The room itself was simple; a window on the opposite side with the curtains drawn, and two chairs beside a door he was sure was for the bathroom. A television framed opposite the bed was playing a morning news channel where the reporter anxiously stated, "We are now several hours past the 24 hour ultimatum left by the group known as 'Legion' and there has still been no acts of violence. The Prime Minister of Japan would like to assure his citizens that the utmost care has been taken to-"

Taichi cracked a tired yawn and said, "I'm sorry I've been out of touch. Yamaki heard about my senior project for Tokyo University and wanted it incorporated as a project for DATA."

"I heard," Hikari sat down in one of the chairs, "How come you never told us that uniting the Digital World was your project? We'd all have wanted to help you with that."

"I didn't have the time when I was still in college, among other things," Taichi explained, "There was a lot to do back then. I completed most of my project, but the professor was willing to let me pass because he saw what I had finished by then. The day after graduation, Yamaki told me that he'd heard about my project through some friends. I agreed to work with him on it, but he told me no one was allowed to know about it until it was complete. What should have taken a month, ended up lasting almost a year. That business with Lucemon didn't help at all."

"So then why did Yamaki want it secret? We're all in DATA, so why didn't he at least tell us? Didn't he trust us?" Hikari demanded out of her brother, who ran a hand through his fiery hair. Taichi's face was much more serious than she'd ever seen it as he answered, "It wasn't that he didn't trust you. He'd trust every one of the digidestined and the tamers with his life. What he didn't trust was Interpol, the United Nations, and the Prime Minister. Interpol already thinks DATA is too unsanctioned, the United Nations was trying to undermine the validity of the Digital World as rightful members, and the Prime Minister just wanted to give Japan an edge over the rest of the world."

"There's no way that's all true!" Hikari answered in disbelief, "You're making it sound like they're the bad. They're the good guys!"

"Are they?" Taichi asked, his face becoming more serious, "A lot of people don't see Digimon as equals and would rather kill them or find a way to subjugate them. A lot of them have been trying to steal DATA's information on the Digital World, so that they can develop their own way in without relying too much on DATA. Yamaki knew they would try to do this though, so he started networking everything through the Digital World. It was the best way to keep our information secure. It was also part of why he wanted me to finish uniting the Digital World and organizing a defensive force. That way, the Digimon would be able to protect themselves if anyone other than DATA got in."

"How do you know all this, Tai?" Hikari asked skeptically. Taichi laughed, "Really? Chief of Digital World Relations? I'm pretty sure that means I'm your boss!"

"You know you dodged the question, right?" Hikari pointed out. Taichi messed up Hikari's hair with his hand, "Just trust me on this Kari. Would I steer you wrong?"

"There was that time you took me to the park when I was sick because you wanted to play soccer," Hikari recounted, "And that time when I got sick in the Digital World when we were fighting the Dark Masters."

"Hey! That one was not my fault!" Taichi pointed out, "That was the heat that time!"

Hikari broke into laughter at her brother's excuse, and he quickly joined in on the laughter. It was good to laugh with her brother again. She couldn't remember the last time they had spent time together like this. Their laughter eventually died down and the two siblings were left with smiles on their faces.

"In all seriousness, I talked a bit with those two outside. Shizu mentioned that you were the one who went to save me. So, thanks for that," Taichi said sheepishly.

"Just promise me you won't keep any more secrets and we'll call it even," Hikari said.

"Deal," Taichi agreed sheepishly. There was a knock on the door before it opened for Yamaki and Takato. Yamaki had his head over his shoulder and was in the middle of a sentence, "-get to check the phones and wireless network for taps. I don't want any leaks about the VIP."

"Hey guys," Takato greeted the two siblings, "Good to see you're awake, Taichi. How are you feeling?"

"Can't complain," Taichi answered, his face adorned with surprise and his eyes wide with disbelief. He leaned in towards Hikari and asked, "Um, Kari. Do you see that Takato-kid there? The doctor gave me some pain killers so I just want to make sure it's not messing with me."

"Yeah, I see him," Hikari's eyes were on Takato. He was no longer dressed in the white armor that was modeled after Gallantmon. He wore a blue v-neck hoodie that hung loosely his frame underneath a thick leather jacket that made him look small, a pair of baggy khakis, and a pair of green sneakers. His hoodie had been drawn over his face, but he pulled it down to reveal a pair of yellow goggles and a surgical mask. He removed the disguised and heaved a sigh, "Geez, the people in this country are crazy."

"I told you, people blame you for the D-Reaper attack because you were the scapegoat," Yamaki said. Takato ran a hand through his hair and sat at the foot of Taichi's bed. Taichi's jaw still hung slightly open in disbelief before commenting, "You... Takato, I mean... you're alive! I thought you were-"

"Dead? I know. I guess it would be weird to see someone back from the dead," Takato frowned, "Though I don't remember anything between File Island and Miyake Jima."

"Talk about this later," Yamaki interrupted them, "Yagami, I thought I made it clear that no one was allowed to see you until we talked."

"It's my sister," Taichi pointed out, while Yamaki went to the window and peeked out the blinds for a second, "You still broke a direct order."

"Sorry if I wasn't big on being locked in a room by myself after that attack on the United Nations," Taichi said sarcastically. Yamaki motioned Hikari and Takato towards the door, "You two wait outside. I want to talk with the Chief in private for a moment."

"Yes sir," Hikari nodded. Takato readjusted his surgical mask and goggles to conceal his face before leading the way out the door. They took a seat on a bench by the nurse's station and took the chance to have some quality time alone.

"I thought you were going to see your parents," Hikari mentioned, reclining backwards while Takato leaned forward to obscure his face as best as he could, "Yamaki wanted to visit your brother first. He said something about PR. How come you didn't wait at the... um, what's it called again? DATS?"

"DATA," Hikari answered, "I thought you'd want to be alone when you went to see your family. That, and I wanted to see Tai. He became quiet and distant again after File Island so I didn't see much of him. I just wanted to know he was alright."

"Well, I'm glad he's okay," Takato smiled weakly, "I guess that's one thing that didn't change. It's funny, I've only been gone for a year but the world feels like an entirely different place. Everyone in Japan wants me dead, all of your guys are in DATA, the Digital World is unified. It really is different."

"Is different bad?" Hikari asked, looking at him just as he turned his gaze. They locked eyes in that instant, but neither of them was able to look away. Hikari noticed Takato's face turn red and she turned red in response. Through a shy smile, Takato answered, "I don't mind it. Not as long as You're with me."

Takato's words were straight forward, and Hikari felt all the blood rush to her face. It made her happy to hear that. Once again, Yamaki interrupted them when he walked out of the room, "You two stay here and stand guard. I'll have two agents come and replace you in a couple of hours. Takato, are you ready?"

"I guess that means you're going?" Hikari frowned. Takato took her hand and pulled her up, "Yeah, and I want you to come with me."

"Really?" Hikari was caught somewhere between surprise and joy.

"Well, I've kind of been dead for a year," Takato explained, "I know I'm just seeing my parents, but I don't know what I'm supposed to say to them. And I'd feel a lot better if you came with me."

"Okay," Hikari nodded. After going to her brother's room one last time to say good-bye, she went with Takato and Yamaki, who led them to the roof of the hospital where a helicopter was waiting for them. The helicopter took them north for about an hour, to the town of Shinjo in the heart of mainland Japan. They landed in a forest outside of the town where they found a black Toyota sedan waiting for them. Once they were inside, the driver took off down the dirt road. Yamaki took the chance to open his phone and make a call, "Hello, Yoshie... yeah, it's Yamaki. Are you and your husband at the bakery? ... Good, I'm coming by to check up on you two. I know it's unorthodox, but I figured you would like some company since its been about ahead since 'The Incident'... I'll be there in about ten minutes... No, no, that'll be fine."

Yamaki closed his cell phone and patted Takato on the shoulder, "How are you feeling?"

"Anxious," Takato said, "Why couldn't Guilmon come again?"

"He stands out too much, and the last thing you want is unnecessary attention," Yamaki explained, "And don't be nervous. They'll be happy to see you."

"I hope so," Takato muttered quietly, staring out the window. He had the same contemplative look he had earlier, but this was mixed with more anxiety. The ride continued on in silence after that, and Hikari watched as the forest turned into farm land, then into small houses, and finally a shopping district. The car stopped in front of a small building named 'Inari Family Bakery'.

Yamaki was the first one to get out and was almost at the door when he realized Hikari and Takato were still inside the car. Hikari looked at Takato and saw he had his hand on the handle but he wasn't opening the door. His arm tensed up and he bit his lip with a serious look on his face. Seeing the hesitation, Hikari patted Takato on the shoulder and said, "It'll be fine."

"What do I say?" Takato asked.

"I don't know," Hikari told him, "But I'd like to make a suggestion: open the door."

"Yeah, okay," Takato nodded, finally pushing the door open. He helped Hikari out of the car and closed the door behind them. Hikari stayed right next to him as he walked up to the door. Yamaki pushed the door open for him and together, they all walked in with Yamaki at the front, "Mr. And Mrs. Inari?"

Mrs. Matsuda perked her head up at the name, "Mr. Mitsuo! It's good to see you."

She wiped her hands on a towel and tossed it aside on the counter before greeting Yamaki, "Takehiro! Mr. Mitsuo is here!"

"Hang on, I'm getting the bread out of the oven!" Mr. Matsuda shouted from the back. Mrs. Matsuda smiled cheerfully while shaking Yamaki's hand before turning to Hikari, "Kari, it's good to see you. How have you been?"

"Good," Hikari answered. Mrs. Matsuda looked in Takato's direction but was unable to recognize him because the face mask and goggles obscured his face, "Who's your friend? Another DATA agent?"

"He's with me. Close the shop today. I don't want anyone knowing that DATA came by for a personal visit," Yamaki said looking out the window.

"Okay, but what's this about?" Mrs. Matsuda asked, heading over to the window to lower the blinds, "We haven't been found out, have we?"

"No. Our field agents have been careful with making sure no one finds out who you are. This is something completely different," Yamaki said with a smirk, "Just hurry up and close shop."

"Is there a reason you're making us go this far to hide the fact you're here?" Mrs. Matsuda asked. Mr. Matsuda walked out of the back with a tray full of rolls in hand that he started placing in the display cabinet until he noticed his wife closing the shop, "What's going on?"

"Yamaki wants us to close shop," Mrs. Matsuda told him, much to Mr. Matsuda's surprise, "Have we been found out?"

"Far from it."

"This is about that thing at the United Nations, isn't it? Is Legion targeting us?"

"Just close the shop," Yamaki said still smiling. Hikari had to admit, the smile was a bit unnerving. Mr. Matsuda flipped the open sign on the door, locked it with a key, and lowered down the blinds. Once the shop was darkened and locked down, Mr. Matsuda turned on an overhead lamp and asked, "So are you going to tell us what this is about?"

"Would you like to tell them?" Yamaki looked at Takato. Takato looked at Hikari nervously. Hikari reassured him with a smile and a gentle push forward. He took the hint, lowered his hood, and removed the face mask and goggles. Mrs. Matsuda gasped and Mr. Matsuda's jaw fell open, both in apparent shock at what they were seeing. Takato had a weak smile on his face, "Hi Mom... Dad."

"Takato," Mrs. Matsuda whimpered, "But... how?"

"I'm back," Takato said, just as Mrs. Matsuda jumped on her son and squeezed him into a tight hug, "This has to be a dream. If it is, don't wake me up!"

"It's not a dream, Mom. I'm really back," Takato said, just as his dad joined in on the hug with tears in his eyes, "Please, don't leave us ever again!"

Hikari saw the tears in Takato and his parents' eyes. Two parents who thought they'd never see their son again, who thought he was dead, were holding him in their arms again. There were tears and sobs, but it was all for joy. Hikari had to admit, she felt out of place just standing here watching this. Yamaki apparently came to the same conclusion and nudged Hikari into the kitchen, "Let's give them some time alone."

"Yeah," Hikari followed Yamaki into the back. The kitchen had three large ovens that were all loaded with racks of dough baking into bread. There were several tables with bowls full of batter, bags of ingredients, dirty baking pans, and a bucket of frosting. Hikari watched the bread turn inside the oven and could feel heat coming from as far as the opposite side of the kitchen. Yamaki was busy helping himself to a freshly baked long john smothered in chocolate frosting and a coffee. They waited quietly as the Matsuda's enjoyed that one moment they were together again until a buzzer went off on one of the ovens.

Mr. Matsuda came in to the kitchen and turned off the buzzer, "Sorry. Guess we got a little excited with Takato."

Mr. Matsuda grabbed some oven mitts, opened the oven and pulled out the bread kart. After that, he turned off all the ovens and laughed to himself, "I'll get to this later. Did you two want anything? Some tea or coffee?"

"I'm fine," Yamaki said, holding up his coffee.

"Coffee would be nice," Hikari said, suddenly realizing how tired she was. Mr. Matsuda prepared a coffee for her and then another one. He also grabbed a plate with two donuts on them before ushering them upstairs, "Takato and Yoshie are upstairs in the dining room. I've never seen her so happy."

Upstairs was a small common area that was converted into a dining room with a low end table with pillows around it. There were only two doors, one Hikari assumed was for the bathroom and the other was the Matsudas' bedroom. Takato and his mom were sitting around the table quietly talking. Mr. Matsuda put down the cup of coffee and donuts he was carrying, "Have some breakfast Takato. You look like you haven't eaten."

"I am pretty hungry," Takato said, taking a sip of the coffee and biting into his doughnut, "It tastes just as good as I remember."

"Have as much as you want Takato!" his mom said excitedly, running her hand through her sons head and hugging him again. Takato let his mom pull him into another hug, which he graciously returned. There was genuine happiness on both their faces; Takato's parents were happy to have their son back with them. After seeing this, Takato couldn't possibly think about taking his life again. Then it occurred to Hikari that Yamaki probably planned this - thinking that maybe Takato would back down from his killing himself when he saw how happy his parents were happy to see him. It was incredibly underhanded to use Takato's parents like this, but Hikari wasn't going to complain if it meant he would rethink it all.

"How did this happen? We were told he was dead!" Takato's dad asked Yamaki curiously. Yamaki sipped at his coffee for a little bit before explaining, "I can't tell you all of the details for security purposes. All I can tell you is he was brought back during a recent operation."

"You mean Legion?" Takato's mom asked.

"I can't talk anymore about that," Yamaki said more adamantly, "Now please don't ask me any more questions about it."

"Well, it doesn't matter," his mom said happily, "Because our son's back!"

"Yeah," Takato paused for a second from eating, looking away quietly, "Yeah, I'm back."

Hikari was happy to hear Takato say it, but his hesitation made her question his sincerity. She sipped the coffee hoping it would keep her awake but it wasn't helping. She didn't want to be rude to either of Takato's parents though, especially when they just met with Takato again. Hikari set her coffee down on the table and excused herself, "I'm going to get some air outside."

"Okay, we'll be here," Yamaki said. Hikari went back downstairs and went out the back door into a small garden area. The garden had a small pond with a short waterfall that kept water flowing. The sun had already risen a good distance over the horizon. A refreshing breeze blew past just as she sat down, and she welcomed it. At least she would, but it only made her more tired than refreshed. But she couldn't fall asleep now, it would be rude to fall asleep when she was a guest. There was another reason too, but this was a reason she was more afraid to admit.

"Are you alright?"

Hikari looked up and saw Takato standing next to her, with his hands in his pocket.

"Just tired," Hikari answered, "I can't remember the last time I slept, but it was before the attack on the UN."

"So why not go to sleep?" Takato asked, taking a seat beside her, "You look like you could use it."

"Because I've had dreams like this before," Hikari answered sheepishly, "You're right here, beside me. Just knowing you're there makes me so happy. But then I wake up, and you're not there. If this is a dream, I'd rather stay asleep."

"I'm not a dream, Kari," Takato brushed his shoulder against her, "And I'm not going anywhere."

"You'll be here when I wake up?" Hikari asked him, resting her head on his shoulder. She could already feel the need to close her eyes overtake her. Before she slipped into sleep, Takato wrapped an arm around her and said, "Yeah. I'll be here when you wake up. I promise."

...

**Author's Notes**: Will Takato be there when she wakes up? What was Taichi talking about? What is Bagramon's real plan? That's all for this tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in eight weeks on Friday, June 18th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and analysis into the next chapter of the story. If you are attending Northern Illinois University and would like to chat, just PM me and we can meet face to face! Or add me on Facebook, Twitter (leofib11235), the Playstation Network (PSN ID leo112358). However, please let me know that you read these stories because I tend to ignore invites from random people I don't know. Until next time, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out!


	7. Lucemon's Book

**Disclaimer**: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon: Tamers belong to Bandai. C'mon Digimon is a manga oneshot written in 1997 and published by V-Jump. Takato's Light is a story idea belonging to creepingshadow. Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard is a fan-based narrative intended to promote the original Digimon franchise. This is a not for profit story.

**Author's Notes**: Hello dear readers. It's been a very busy day, if only because I've been wrapped up with previous responsibilities. Thus far, the story is proceeding on schedule with a special thanks to Kells who has been reviewing the story for me for some time. I also hope that you all enjoy the covers that I made for Takato's Light and Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard. So I think I need to make an explanation about Digimon's history. Long before the anime series 'Digimon Adventure' and the manga series 'Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01', there was a manga one shot. From what I understand, this is the manga that got Digimon started as a series. It was called 'C'mon Digimon' and focused on central character 'Kentarou Kamon' and his digimon partner 'Bun'. It has little to do with the frame work of good vs evil used by later series, instead being more in the vein of Pokemon or Monster Rancher. As the precursor, it's safe to say that C'mon Digimon is what started Digimon's success as a franchise. In that respect, Kentarou Kamon was 'first' Digimon Tamer/Digidestined/Chosen Child. With that said and no reviews to respond to, I'll think we'll just jump straight into the story. Enjoy!

**Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard**

**Chapter 7: Lucemon's Book**

Hikari stood beside a window within the halls of Holy Angel Castle, where she gazed upon a massive marble door lined with gold. Ophanimon, Cherubimon, and what looked like a MagnaAngemon in Seraphimon's armor were busy waiting. Ophanimon paced back and forth worriedly, while Cherubimon watched in surprise.

"Thank you again for waiting with us, Dominimon," Ophanimon said to the MagnaAngemon.

"Not at all, m'lady," Dominimon said, "Lord Lucemon simply asked that I wait for him to finish his meeting with the Creator."

"Do you know why the Creator asked for him?" Cherubimon asked. Dominimon shook his head and cheerily asked, "Am I to understand that there is knowledge even the all-knowing Celestial Three do not have?"

Ophanimon stopped her pacing and looked in Dominimon's direction. If Cherubimon's expression was an indication of anything, they both seemed annoyed with Dominimon's comment. Dominimon threw up his hands in defense, "I meant that as a joke."

"Of course," Ophanimon snorted, returning to her pacing, "I hope everything is alright."

"Everything is," Lucemon's voice rang out as the doors slid open. Lucemon emerged from the chamber within, gliding through the air with several books and a scroll tucked beneath his arm. He looked surprised to see Ophanimon and Cherubimon waiting for him, "I didn't expect you two to be here. I suppose Seraphimon is, as well?"

"He's busy assisting Azulongmon and Lord HolyAngemon with a dispute in the Eastern quadrant," Cherubimon answered, "Why? Did the Creator ask to see you?"

"You know I can't tell you - to know the Creator's will is to unravel one's own mind," Lucemon answered sheepishly, carefully trying to avoid meeting anyone's gaze. Dominimon was at his side right away, and relieved Lucemon of some of the books, "Even I don't pretend to understand the Creator's actions. It wasn't important anyway."

"It doesn't sound like it was nothing," Ophanimon ran in front of Lucemon, "Something's bothering you. What is it?"

"I'm tired," Lucemon dismissed her. He pushed past her and dropped one of his books, "We can talk after I get some rest."

Dominimon and Lucemon promptly left the room, neither of them noticing that the book was on the ground. Ophanimon picked up the book and examined it carefully, turning it over in her hands like a curiosity from another world. With an astonished tone, she stated, "This is the book the Creator gave to Lucemon."

"Lucemon wouldn't drop anything this precious to him," Cherubimon noted, "If he dropped it, he must have had a reason."

Ophanimon flipped the book and leafed through the pages, barely giving each cage more than a glance before moving on. Eventually she came to a stop on one of the pages and her eyes widened in fear. She slammed the book shut and gave it to Cherubimon.

"What is it Ophanimon? What did you see?" Cherubimon asked her. Ophanimon stepped towards Hikari and came to a stop. For a moment, Hikari swore Ophanimon was looking right at her until Ophanimon somehow managed to walk through her and stared out the window. Her voice quivered as she spoke, "I saw... I can't describe it. It was... horrific."

"Ophanimon, what did you see? Tell me! What did you see?" Cherubimon demanded, his expression more distressed than before. He turned Ophanimon around to face him, but Ophanimon pushed him away and followed after Lucemon, "I... need to see Lucemon."

...

Hikari's eyes jolted open as she felt someone gently shaking her, "Hey, Hikari. Wake up."

"Hm... yeah?" She answered groggily, rubbing her eyes as the world around her slowly came into focus. She turned to her waker and saw Takato beside her with two cups of coffee. He passed her a cup that she graciously accepted and took a drink. Takato sat down beside her and asked, "Enjoy your nap?"

"Yeah," Hikari took a look around her and realized she was now lying down on a futon in the upstairs area of the Matsuda's Bakery. Or the Inari's. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to call them by their real name. She took another sip of coffee before asking, "When did I get here?"

"Last night," Takato explained, "It was getting late, so Dad set out a futon for you."

"Last night? How long was I asleep for?" Hikari asked in surprise.

"About all of yesterday and last night," Takato informed her, "You were so cute, I couldn't bear to wake you. So I thought I'd just carry you up."

"Thanks," Hikari muttered quietly while sipping on her coffee to hide that her face was turning red. Another thought occurred to her as she looked around the room and saw that there was only one bedroom, "Where did you sleep?"

"Parents' room," Takato said plainly, either completely oblivious to Hikari's worries or completely indifferent.

"Anyway, Yamaki told me to wake you up since he was sending a car to take you back to Tokyo. He left last night and decided to let you stay so you could rest," Takato added, taking another sip of his coffee. Hikari drained that last of her coffee before setting it down and standing up. A quick glance at her hazy reflection in the mirror showed her that her hair was a mess and her appearance was disheveled. Embarassed about being seen this way, Hikari immediately excused herself to the bathroom so she could straighten herself out. She filled the sink with water and splashed some onto her face before trying to brush her hair straight. After fiddling with it for the better part of an hour, she gave up and returned outside to find Takato's parents had moved the futon out of the room and replaced it with a table for breakfast. Takato was already helping himself to a cinnamon roll and Hikari joined him for some toast.

"Good morning!" Mrs. Matsuda/Inari said as she came upstairs.

"Good morning," Hikari answered sheepishly, "Thanks for letting me stay the other night."

"Don't worry about it! You're always welcome here, Hikari," she answered, setting down another plate of cinnamon rolls and toast for the two of them, "I'm sorry if we woke you earlier, we need to get up early to warm up the ovens and get the bread ready."

"I didn't notice anything at all," Hikari smiled at Mrs. Matsuda as she went back downstairs while tying an apron around her waist. Hikari and Takato finished joined his parents downstairs after finishing breakfast. With some guidance from Mrs. Matsuda/Inari, she started making the batter and the dough for something called onion rolls which were apparently popular this season. Around eleven, a black car came to a stop in front of the unassuming bakery and a well dressed man stepped in, "Mr. and Mrs. Inari. I'm here to pick up Yagami."

"Yeah, I'm here," Hikari greeted the agent, "Are you ready, Takato?"

"I'm not going," Takato said nonchalantly, despite Hikari's jaw falling wide open, "You're staying?"

"Yeah. I can't really lie low in a city where I'm the most wanted person alive," Takato explained nonchalantly, "Besides, I want to stay with my parents for a while."

"I understand, but you better stay in touch," Hikari smirked at him. Takato chuckled, "Yeah, I will. And if you need me, you know where to call."

"Okay, take care Takato," Hikari said as she went outside. As she walked past the window, she saw Takato's reflection in the mirror, with blonde hair. Hikari blinked and looked again to see his hair was still brown. Thinking it was her imagination, Hikari looked back one more time to wave goodbye, before finally getting into the car for the long drive back to Tokyo. The driver looked through the window into the bakery one more time and mused, "So that's Matsuda Takato? He's scrawnier than in his profile photo. But he came back from the dead so I guess he's just full of surprises."

"I'm not complaining," Hikari said as the car dashed out of the town. Hikari examined her driver carefully as they rolled their way out of the back street. He was roughly around her age, although he looked a bit older, and had a mess of fiery brown hair that was a little too similar to her brothers. While they drove, the driver made some idle chat with Hikari, "You're a field agent, right? One of those Digidestined/Special Ops guys."

"Yeah," Hikari answered quietly while the driver excitedly went on, "Yeah, you guys are supposed to have those digimon for partners. I've always wanted to know: how does someone get in that division? Director Matsuo is really tight lipped about it and doesn't say anything about the selection process. And Chief Yagami said that they get chosen, but he didn't say how."

"I can't really say," Hikari explained to the driver, "I didn't know I was one until I was eight, when my partner and I met during the invasion of Tokyo."

"Eight?" The driver asked, "But the invasion was a year ago and you don't look a day under eighteen."

"A different invasion," Hikari pointed out, "It's a long story. Really long."

"We've got two hours to Tokyo," the driver clarified excitedly, "Plenty of time. So shoot, I'm all ears."

Hikari went on to explain her story as a Digidestined. How her brother and a few other kids were taken to another world during summer camp while she was sick at home. She told him about her first encounter with her future partner, who worked with the enemy of the world at the time. About the war against another future Digidestined who planned to rule the Digital World under her iron fist. About how the digimon Lucemon used his powers to slowly collapse all of reality in on itself. She stopped there though, because the information concerning Takato was still largely classified. Not to mention that she, herself, didn't know all the details. They arrived outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Building - home to DATA's HQ - just as she finished telling her story.

"That's some story," the driver nodded approvingly as he pulled into a garage beneath the building, "So basically, fate or something like that decides who gets a digimon partner. That's depressing. I've seen some of those pictures too, and I was hoping I could get a Aeroveedramon as a partner."

"Aeroveedramon?" Hikari asked stupidly, while they stepped out of the car and walked over to an elevator that would take them straight to the top. The driver shrugged, "Yeah. Or, I don't know, a Tyrannomon. I've always liked dinosaurs."

"I don't know about those two, but my brother's partner is an Agumon. You could meet him if you want," Hikari offered. They boarded the elevator and it jolted up at high speed to take them to the top, but the driver was too excited to notice the sudden lurch, "Could you? I would love to meet one up close!"

"Sure, I'd be happy to set it up Mr..., um..."

"Kamon," he introduced himself, "My name's Kamon Kentarou."

"Hikari, Yagami Hikari," Hikari returned the late greeting. Kentarou smiled happily, "I look forward to that meeting Agent Yagami. Oh, and before I forget: the director wanted to speak with you right away. He was mum on the details."

The elevator suddenly stopped at the top floor and opened up to the command room of the DATA facility. They both went their separate ways from there, with Hikari going straight to Yamaki's office. It was business as usual today, as Hikari heard two of the agents talking about a bioemergence in the Philippine Sea that was complicated by the Filipino Navy openly firing on a Seadramon mistaken for a sea monster. When she finally reached Yamaki's office, it was to the sight of Yamaki and Ryo having what looked like a heated discussion with the Prime Minister. She waited outside his office, watching with fascination as Yamaki continuously pointed at several papers scattered across his desk while the Prime Minister remained largely unimpressed.

Eventually, the Prime Minister muttered something and got up to leave. Head two aides with him who followed him outside while an angered Yamaki said after him, "Mister Prime Minister, you won't be able to sanction DATA. I won't let you."

"Your little project is over Yamaki," the Prime Minister said, "Step down, or I'll have you indicted for treason."

The Prime Minister and his aides left, and Hikari allowed herself in to the director's office, "You wanted to see me Director?"

"Another time, Yagami," the Director said, "I'm not in the mood at the moment."

"What happened?" Hikari whispered to Ryou. He guided her out into the hallway and explained the situation to her, "Yamaki provided a press release about the circumstances at Miyake Jima. People are happy that we stopped whatever was going on, but a couple of world leaders aren't too big about DATA being the only organization with any clue what's going on. The Prime Minister was demanding that DATA hand over all information to the government so they could restructure and assist. Yamaki told them that the Digimon aren't too happy about humans constantly trying to enter the Digital World through their computers, and that he won't cooperate with them until he knows they've stopped. Then the Prime Minister told Yamaki he would take the organization by force."

"What?"

"I know, it is kind of hard to believe," Ryo said.

"No, I mean what? I thought DATA was independent," Hikari said. Ryo nodded, "Yeah, but then where do you think our pay checks come from?"

"Okay, so they can do that, but why? We saved the world, didn't we?"

"Because Legion and Bagramon got away. Koushiro, Ken, and Miyako are in one of the computer labs analyzing all the data we have to see if they can find out what Bagramon is planning. I'll show you. I was just about to head down there," Ryou told her. He led her back through the control room towards a white room where several monitors were linked together to a single large computer. Koushiro and Miyako were busy at work on this large computer while Ken was busy talking to Wormmon and Gennai on the other side, "We're still having trouble decrypting Bagramon's warning. Our communication monitors haven't found anything but it's not perfect. Not all communication networks are linked together, you see. How is the search in the Digital World?"

Gennai frowned at Ken's announcement and gave his report "The DSDF is watching the dimensional weak points on their side, but nothing. Bagramon and his army are definitely still in the Real World. I don't like to admit it, but no one on our side knows how Bagramon thinks. Only Lucemon and the original Celestials were able to stay a step ahead of him. Hm? Oh, hi Kari, Ryou."

Koushiro, Ken, and Miyako all looked up and waved at them. Koushiro immediately went back to work while Miyako excitedly ran up to Hikari, "Hikari! You were gone for a whole day with Takato! What did you two get up too? Did you... y'know?"

"Miyako, that question's personal," Hikari pushed past her and went straight up to the screen where Gennai and Wormmon were, "Have you guys found anything?"

"No," Gennai frowned, "We have too many areas to inspect and not enough digimon to look. It will take us quite some time to find anything, if there's anything to find."

"We just need to figure out what he's planning," Koushiro concluded, bringing up a file on his computer and throwing it onto the large monitor, "This is a transcript of Legion's warning: You thought the cycles over and the war won. The last part might mean our fight with Lucemon. What does the first part mean?"

"I wish I could tell you," Gennai explained, "It's probably just mindless rambling. Bagramon and the rest of Legion were punished for their alliance with Lucemon. There's no reason to believe they haven't gone insane."

"Great. Powerful, evil, genius, and crazy. What a winning combo," Ryou frowned sarcastically, "Have you looked at the other lines?"

"But soon our guiding light will return to us and you will know true suffering," Ken read off the screen.

"So they're out for revenge. Guiding light? Light is Lux in latin - but it becomes lucis depending on how you use it," Ken concluded, "Lucemon. Which means they plan on reviving him. How?"

"That could be why he needed Parallelmon," Gennai suggested, "Parallelmon has the power to manipulate time and space. It's limited at best, but it isn't beyond him to pull people into our world. We saw it when he revived Takato."

"But with Parallelmon dead, they can't revive Lucemon," Hikari chimed in, "So what would they do now?"

"As I said before, Bagramon is a master tactician," Gennai explained, "If something happens, it's only because he wanted it to happen."

"Maybe he didn't plan for Parallelmon dying?" Hikari reasoned, "It would explain why nothing has happened since."

"No, he planned for it," Gennai affirmed, "Believe me. I know."

"Congratulations, you argued yourselves back to where we started," Koushiro said absentmindedly. He pulled out up data table of nonsensical numbers that arranged themselves appropriately on a map, "This is a list of the time and location of every reported bio-emergence for the last year, and this is a list of every bio-emergence since the battle on Miyake-Jima."

The data table Koushiro pulled up was blank, which Miyako happily pointed out, "It's blank!"

"Exactly," Koushiro smiled, "Everyday for the past year, there have been at least two bioemergences somewhere in the world. And then nothing. Right after the Battle of Miyake-Jima, all the bio-emergences just stopped."

"That's just two day's worth of data, Koushiro," Miyako added, "It's not enough data."

"It is," Koushiro defended erratically, "Every day for the past year has been consistent. Everyday, except for yesterday and today. So what changed? What's different? Gah! This is frustrating!"

"I think now would be a good time to go home, Koushiro," Ryou patted him on the back, "You look exhausted."

"Not yet," Koushiro murmured, "I'll crack this first, and then I'll go home."

While Ryou and Ken tried to talk to Koushiro into going home, Hikari quietly went up to the monitor. She had an idea, but it was a long shot. The dreams she'd been having were a bit too vivid to be just a dream. Hikari braced herself for an embarrassment, "Hey Gennai. Did Lucemon ever own a book?"

"Hm? I suppose. He did have his own personal library," Gennai mumbled, "Why? Is it important?"

"Did he ever own a book... that could show the future? Or something like that?" Hikari asked. Gennai stroked his chin bemusedly, "Not that I'm aware of. He only ever allowed those he deemed worthy into the library."

"So what's keeping me from having a look around?" Hikari asked. Gennai smirked, "I see where you're going with this."

...

Not long after their discussion, Hikari, Ken, Miyako and Ryou found themselves digi-ported to Holy Angel Castle where Gennai and Wormmon were waiting for them, "Welcome back."

Hikari gave herself a second to absorb the wonder of Holy Angel Castle. It was a grand, marble tower rising high into the sky. Surrounding its highest points where eight orbs of light, each reflecting a different crest of the digidestined. The castle stood as a beacon of all that was good in the Digital World, and was the home to Lord HolyAngemon.

They were in the courtyard of the castle that statues of various mega level digimon along the edge. In the center was a statue of Susanoomon, a powerful mega level digimon that Takato spiritivolved into a year ago. Hikari had no idea what spiritvolution meant, but Susanoomon was the only digimon able to fight Lucemon on even terms. The statue was erected during the reconstruction of the Digital World, to memorialize Takato's sacrifice during that battle. Hikari found the statue a curiosity, because the design was almost perfect despite Susanoomon only appearing once.

"So where's Lucemon's library?" Hikari asked Gennai. Gennai thumbed the second tallest tower in the castle and said, "This way. We'll need Lord HolyAngemon to open it. It was sealed after Lucemon's defection and only Lord HolyAngemon was given the right to open it."

"Lead the way," Ryou said as Gennai took them into the grand halls of Holy Angel Castle. Hikari had no idea how but the interior seemed larger than the exterior of the castle, with a ceiling that stretched higher than Hikari could crane her neck. Within the main chamber was a gathering of various angel digimon chatting amongst themselves excitedly. Their chatter died down as soon as they all saw the digidestined were present and the teens found themselves swarmed by the digimon.

"Is Gennai telling the truth?"

"Is he really alive?"

"Matsuda Takato! Is it true!"

"Has he truly returned?"

"Please, tell us everything you know."

"Piddomon!" Lord HolyAngemon shouted out to them, "Where are your manners? Stop bothering our guests."

"But, Lord HolyAngemon-"

"Silence!" Lord HolyAngemon commanded to them. The Piddomon parted ways as Lord HolyAngemon stepped through them towards Gennai and the teens. Hikari knew Lord HolyAngemon was supposed to be someone important, but she had never seen him in this context. The Piddomon seemed almost afraid of Lord HolyAngemon - as if crossing his path would be the worst thing imaginable. Many of them bowed to Lord HolyAngemon - although Hikari had difficulty telling if it was out of respect or fear. With a calm but commanding voice, Lord HolyAngemon stated, "Everyone return to your duties, now!"

The Piddomon scattered away out of the hall, leaving the teens, Gennai and Lord HolyAngemon. Lord HolyAngemon bowed, "I apologize for that. Everyone's been excited since Gennai came back announcing Takato's return. It's been difficult coordinating anything since then, especially with the talk about Bagramon. I'm sorry, why are you here?"

"Lucemon's Personal Library," Gennai explained, "Hikari has an idea and we'd like to go inside."

"I suppose it'd be alright," Lord HolyAngemon mused to himself, "But why? That archive has been sealed for a very long time."

"We're kind of wondering the same thing," Ryou admitted, out loud, "Hikari care to tell us what you're thinking?"

"I just have a hunch," Hikari said, trying to disguise the fact that the idea came to her in a dream, "Maybe we'll find something inside that'll help us figure out what Bagramon is up too."

"It's worth a shot," Gennai added, looking at Lord HolyAngemon hopefully. Lord HolyAngemon smiled in agreement and guided them through the inner workings of the castle. They ascended a long flight of stairs that spiraled around the second largest tower where it led to a simple wooden door presided over by two Angewomon. Lord HolyAngemon waved them aside and moved towards the door. He took hold of a brass handle and placed his hand on the door. The door vanished into a white light and revealed a grand library within. Lord HolyAngemon ushered them inside to enjoy its full splendor and was surprised to see their amazement. Hikari was unable to believe it when she saw it, but the room within was larger than the tower could have possibly supported. Lines of bookcases extending farther than Hikari could see were stacked with books upon books. Hikari couldn't believe no one had occupied this room since Lucemon's defection because it looked freshly cleaned.

"This is Lucemon's Personal Library," Lord HolyAngemon explained, "A vast wealth of knowledge bestowed to him by the Creator. Some say the knowledge contained within this library is what drove Lucemon to madness, which is why it was sealed. I'll let you in, but I must ask that you do not look at any of the books."

"Is it alright if we peek?" Miyako asked excitedly, living up to his nature as the Bearer of the Crest of Knowledge. Any hope he had was lost when Lord HolyAngemon held up his hand, "The knowledge contained in here is dangerous. There are some things that we were simply not meant to know. If you wish to read anything, you'll first have to come through me."

"That's fair," Miyako said wandering off to the nearest shelf and retrieving a blue leather book. He examined the title and exclaimed aloud, "No way! This is the entire history of Japan from the Sengoku Era to the...Yagamake Era? But, that can't be right. There is no Yagamake Era."

"Lucemon's books detail events that have happened, occur now, and will be," Lord HolyAngemon stated, "Do not ever read that. No one should ever know their future."

"How about a small peek?"

"No."

Hikari wandered away with the others while Miyako tried to convince Lord HolyAngemon to read the book. She knew what book she was looking for, it was just a matter of finding it. In a library this big, it would certainly take a long time. What made it harder was the fact that the bookshelves went so high that Hikari couldn't even tell what books were available past the fifth shelf. Beyond that, Hikari had to wonder just how much knowledge was in this place. In the first minute, Miyako found a book on Japan's history into some distant future. What would she find if she were to open one of the books around her?

It would be easy too. All she had to do was pull out one of the books and prop it open. A quick glance couldn't hurt. It was a difficult situation, but Hikari fought against her curiosities and returned her focus on finding Lucemon's book. If they could find it, they could find a way to defeat Bagramon without risking Takato's life.

After rounding what felt like the hundredth corner, she sighed in frustration. There was no way they could find one book in a library this large. Hikari sat herself down beside one of the shelves and ran a hand through her hair. She wondered if the book was even in the library still. What were the odds Lucemon took it with him when he defected? She didn't know. Tired, Hikari decided to close her eyes and take a quick little nap.

...

"Lord Lucemon, may I have a word?" Ophanimon called after him. Hikari found herself in Lucemon's Library, watching as Lucemon turned to face Ophanimon. Ophanimon held a book in her hand. Lucemon's book. She gave it to him sheepishly and explained, "Forgive me. You dropped this as you left the audience with the Creator. I wanted to return it but I looked inside, first. What I saw... I can't imagine anyone ever doing such things. Please tell me it won't come true. Tell me that is a future which won't happen."

Lucemon remained impassive at the dire expression on Ophanimon's face. He tucked the book beneath his arm and answered her monotonously, "I can't say. The Creator refused to tell me when I asked the same question."

Ophanimon looked like she had been hit by a hammer, as Lucemon floated away from her. Before he stopped he explained to her, "I thought this book was a blessing. A gift from the Creator's bounty. It isn't. It's a curse. To know all these things, is to never forget them. To know that we... that I may do those things... to all those innocent lives."

Hikari saw a tears roll down Lucemon's eyes as he floated towards a marble pedestal that rested below a golden chandelier with twelve candles suspended on it. He placed the book on the pedestal as if he were ridding himself of a great weight, "I don't wish to know anything more. No one should read this book ever again. This thing... no good can ever come of it."

"Lucemon," Hikari said in unison with Ophanimon. She couldn't believe herself. She was sympathizing with Lucemon, of all people. Lucemon drifted off from there, "Excuse me Ophanimon. I want to be alone right now."

"Hey, wake up," Hikari heard Gennai's voice say.

...

Hikari's eyes fluttered opn to Gennai shaking her shoulder, "Enjoy your nap?"

"Crap," Hikari jumped up, "How long was I asleep for?"

"Not long," Gennai said, "We've only been in here for fifteen minutes. Though I think it's odd that you decided to take a nap first."

"Sorry," Hikari stammered apologetically, to which Gennai laughed, "Forget about it. It's a big library. A little nap wouldn't hurt."

"Gennai, I know this'll sound weird, but is there a pedestal or a chandelier in here?" Hikari asked. For a moment, Gennai actually looked surprised by this question and shrugged, "I haven't seen a pedestal at all. As for chandeliers, well..."

Gennai pointed up towards dozens of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. How Hikari didn't notice any of these earlier, she didn't know. However, none of the chandeliers looked like the one from her dream. More importantly, no two chandeliers looked the same. They were all sorts of colors, with a different number of lights, and used candles, lightbulbs, torches, and even floating balls of light. On the plus side, at least they knew what they were looking for now.

"What's up with the chandeliers?" Gennai asked.

"The book we're looking for will be beneath a golden chandelier, with twelves candles," Hikari said as she typed this information into her D-Terminal. She took off down the aisles once she sent out the message, "If we find the chandelier, we'll find the book."

"Hikari, how do you know all this?" Gennai called after her, as he tried to keep up.

"I saw it in a dream," Hikari told Gennai absent mindedly, before realizing that she probably shouldn't have done that. And she was right. Gennai immediately jumped in front of her and said, "What? What do you mean they've been coming to you in dream Hikari? If they're dreams, then we need to call this whole thing-"

Hikari's D-Terminal went off right before Gennai could finish. It was a message from Ryou: 'I think I found it. I'm bringing it back to the entrance'. That was good enough for Hikari, and she turned on her heel while ignoring Gennai who went on to say, "Hikari, these are dreams! You have no way of knowing if they're right or not!"

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Hikari said excitedly, ignoring Gennai as he tried to explain to her the dangers of listening to something that came to her in a dream. Hikari was too anxious though. In a moment, they were going to use the book to figure out Bagramon's plan. Takato's life wouldn't be sacrificed! It was all going to be alright!

"Ryou! Don't open the-"

Hikari rounded the corner just in time to watch Ryou holding open a large leather book that he needed both hands to hold. It was the book Hikari had seen in her dreams and Ryou was reading it. Beside him was Lord HolyAngemon who looked awestruck at Ryou. With a surprised voice, he said, "How are you able to read the book?"

"What do you mean?" Ryou looked away from the book momentarily, "It's just a book, and it's written in Japanese."

"No, I mean how are you reading it without going mad! Most of Lucemon's books are fragments of reality that exist on the edge of existence. Just looking at them should drive a person mad! You'd have to be extradimensional to be able to look at it!"

"Maybe I'm not from this dimension," Ryou laughed jokingly, before returning his attention to the book, "I think whoever wrote this book needs to learn to spell though. And how to write. I mean just look at this paragraph: For the wings beat to the drums of war, the cat flees before the knight, and the risen one walks as god among men. It is as a fish that swims against the current of a river by flying over the waves, and the tides of blood follow in its wake. I mean, it's all gibberish."

"Ryou, may I see the book?" Hikari asked reaching out to take the book. Lord HolyAngemon slapped her hand away and snatched the book out of Ryou's hands, "Please, do not read anymore! It's dangerous enough that Ryou looked at it. I refuse to let anyone else look at the book!"

"Then how are we supposed to defeat Bagramon?" Hikari demanded, "That book can tell us what Bagramon is planning before he does it! Lord HolyAngemon, please! We need this!"

Lord HolyAngemon looked at the pleading expression on Hikari's face and sank back in defeat, "Fine. But I only want Ryou to look at it, and only under my supervision!"

"Thank you Lord HolyAngemon!" Hikari hugged the angel digimon happily. They had it! With this, they could stop Bagramon without losing Takato! There was no way they could lose now! Hikari was so happy, she could kiss someone. Preferably Takato, but she could wait until she saw him again. For now, they had to get back to DATA HQ and figure out this book.

...

**Author's Note**: That's all for this tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in six weeks on Friday, July 27th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and analysis into the final chapter of the story. If you are attending Northern Illinois University and would like to chat, just PM me and we can meet face to face! Or add me on Facebook, Twitter (leofib11235), the Playstation Network (PSN ID leo112358). However, please let me know that you read these stories because I tend to ignore invites from random people I don't know. Until next time, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out!


	8. A Day With Tai

Disclaimer: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon: Tamers belong to Bandai. B Kino's Journey is a light novel written by Keichi Sigsawa. Takato's Light is a story idea belonging to creepingshadow. Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard is a fan-based narrative intended to promote the original Digimon franchise. This is a not-for-profit story.

**Author's Notes: **Hello dear reader(s). I am hesitant to say that this will be the final chapter to Takato's Light 2. I'd love to continue the story but, unfortunately, there's just too much going on right now and I only started because I swore to myself I would keep going until I finished another fanfiction I'm writing titled Oyabun. You can find it on my profile account. For now, this will be the final chapter. No point in delaying, I'll just respond to a review and get on with it.

**Thesame12: **Thanks for the compliment.

And so, I present, TK2's final chapter:

Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard

Chapter 8: A Day With Tai

Hikari hurried down the school corridor to her next class, arriving just as the bell rang and jumping in to her seat. The teacher rapped his fingers against his desk with a stern look on his desk and asked, "Late again, Miss Yagami?"

"I'm sorry, sensei, I got sidetracked with work," Hikari bowed apologetically. A call came in of a possible nearby bio-emergence during their lunch period, which Hikari and her friends were asked to investigate. Fortunately, it was a small bio-emergence made entirely of a few rookie level Piyomon. Hikari contacted DATA command to send an escort team to transport them back into the Digital World, something which cost them their lunch period since the team was coming from across town.

"Take your seat and we'll get started," the teacher said, which Hikari quickly did. She was only attending the class because it was required, and quickly tuned out as the teacher started talking. She was too excited to pay attention. Right now, Koushiro was busy working with a top team of DATA analysts to decode Lucemon's book. As soon as they did, they would have Bagramon on the ropes.

At the end of the school day, they all gathered together to go to work except for Hikari and Iori who had patrol duty that day. It was routine, or at least it was supposed to be, were it not for the strange sight that attracted so much attention from the student body.

Her brother was waiting just outside the gate with Gatomon and Agumon alongside him. He was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a blue turtle neck. He waved at them with a smile and put a finger this mouth, "Don't call me in. I snuck out of the hospital."

"Shouldn't those two agents have reported you were missing?" Hikari asked. Tai winked mischievously, "Too busy getting intimate."

"On the job?" Hikari asked in disbelief.

"Are you kidding? Those two have been guarding me for months!" Taichi nudged her in the arm, "Together, because they're in to each other. They're just sexually repressed because most of their time together is on the job. All I did was give them a nudge in the right direction. They did the rest."

"That's... kind of manipulative, Tai," Daisuke noted, which made Taichi shrug dismissively, "That's kind of my job now. Getting people to do what I want while letting them think they're doing what they want."

"What?" Daisuke asked.

"Short version: growing up sucks," Taichi laughed, "So what's up Kari?"

"Go back to the hospital, Tai," Hikari said, "You're not ready to be out yet."

"I'm fine," Tai lit a cigarette and took a drag on it, "I've been cooped up in an office working for the last few months. I don't want to be stuck in a hospital room, too. So I figured I'd tag along on one of your patrols today so we could catch up. Sound good?"

"What about Agumon and Gatomon? They kind of stand out!" Hikari said exasperatedly.

"We're right here, y'know," Agumon folded his arms.

"I didn't mean it like that," Hikari apologized.

"It'll be fine," Taichi assured his little sister, "People know digimon exist now. They might get nervous, but they're not going to start running around, screaming."

Hikari looked from Taichi to their digimon partners skeptically. Even if she disagreed with her brother's sudden antic, she did want to spend some time with him. She just had worried that Taichi would hurt himself again like he usually did. Hikari assured herself that he would be alright if she made sure to keep an eye on him. There was no chance he would get hurt on her watch. She finally relented, "Okay, just try not to get hurt."

"Awesome! So where are we going?" Tai asked them as their group split up. Takeru, Miyako, Ken, and Daisuke went to Shinjuku, while Iori led the way down the street, "We usually go to the convenience store to grab snacks, first."

"Isn't that against regulation?" Gatomon asked.

"Yeah, but then they don't have to walk around Odaiba from four to eleven in case a digimon shows up," Hikari pointed out. After a quick trip to buy some coffee and snacks, the group started for the Rainbow Bridge. As Hikari expected, people started to give their digimon funny looks as they walked past. Agumon was too busy helping himself to a box of donuts to notice but Gatomon didn't take to the attention as well. She looked up at Hikari, "Can we do something about all the people staring?"

"You're a white cat walking on two legs and wearing yellow gloves," Hikari pointed out with a laugh, "And there's an orange dinosaur right next to you. What do you want me to do?"

"Are you allowed to shoot them?" Gatomon asked. Hikari patted her partner on the head, "No."

"I missed this," Taichi said excitedly, looking all around him excitedly, "I haven't been in the Real World for something other than business for months! A lot has changed in the old neighborhood, huh?"

"Yep," Hikari answered, "A few buildings were closed off because of bio-emergences."

"Which ones?" Taichi asked, pocketing his hands and spinning around as they walked. Hikari pointed up the street at an old brick building. The door had been boarded shut and was roped off with yellow tape. A small paper notice on front with the DATA logo on it served to warn people away, "That apartment over there is one of them. A Tyrranomon bio-emerged inside the building and took five floors with it. That was one of the first cases. Another one happened a few weeks later just up the street."

"A Seadramon landed on a taxi," Iori added, which made Taichi snicker a little, "Stopped traffic for a day."

"That... sorry," Taichi apologized, "I just imagined a Seasdramon splashing around in the middle of a street looking for water."

Hikari, Agumon, and Gatomon started laughing with Tai. The image was pretty funny when she thought about it, but Iori brought them back to earth with a dismal reminder, "We're still working, guys. Can we at least try to look like it?"

"Right, sorry!" Taichi spun back around. They arrived at Rainbow Bridge which was already busy with the rush hour commute. A police officer was busy standing at the entrance to the bridge, directing cars on to the bridge safely. Off to the side, a group of technicians were working on a traffic control box to the side.

"Looks like the light went out," Hikari noted.

"And my watch," Iori chimed in, tapping at his wristwatch and fiddling with the dial on the side. A passing red Honda suddenly made a loud bang and rolled to a stop in the middle of the entrance of the bridge. The driver stepped out of his car and popped the hood open to see what the problem was. A pillar of smoke bellowed out and a technician ran over to the car, explaining out loud, "Cars have been breaking down here all day. Put it in neutral and I'll give you a push! That should get it going!"

"Thanks!" the driver closed the hood of his car and hopped back into the driver's seat. Hikari looked at the malfunctioning equipment thought aloud, "You guys aren't thinking what I'm thinking, are you?"

"Bio-emergence," Agumon and Iori said definitely. Hikari wasted no time in grabbing her radio, "This is Alpha-08, reporting in a possible bio-emergence on the South-entrance to the Rainbow Bridge."

"Stand by and observe, Alpha-08," the dispatcher said, "Verify a bio-emergence before we deploy a response team."

On cue, thunder echoed somewhere nearby and all the electrical equipment in the area sparked violently. A ghostly shape appeared in the middle of the street but was too mottled to make out. Panic ensued and people started climbing out of their cars to get away from the figure appearing before them. Hikari exchanged looks with her brother before radioing in, "This is a bio-emergence. Something big is coming through, probably a champion. Send in a response team immediately."

"Copy that," the dispatcher said. Iori and Taichi were already out in the street, telling everyone to evacuate the area. It was time consuming, but necessary. An unfortunate truth to the bio-emergences and dimensional weak points is that they worked both ways. If a digimon cross over to the Real World, sometimes a human fell into the open dimensional weak point and landed in the Digital World. It was easy for DATA Agents to get out. For normal humans, they could go missing for months without ever being found.

Hikari took out her badge and went over to the police officer. She waved it in his face and said, "DATA has jurisdiction over this. I'll need you to help evacuate the area."

"They let high-schoolers into DATA?" The officer asked incredulously.

"Just do as she says," Gatomon hopped onto Hikari's head, "That's a digimon coming through, and that gun you're carrying won't touch it."

The officer took a step back in surprise, but nodded in agreement. He blew on a whistle and started motioning for people to get as far away as possible. Hikari then turned her attention to the engineers, who had already abandoned the traffic controller and were watching the bio-emergence in awe. Hikari called out to them, "Move, or you'll get sucked into the Digital World!"

The engineers and started moving away from the area. With the area clear, Hikari and Gatomon started moving towards the bio-emerging Digimon which was becoming more clear as it came through. It was a thin digimon, with four elongated arms and pincers, mandibles along its jaw, and a pair of wings protruding from his back.

"We have a Kuwagamon coming through," Hikari shouted at Taichi and Iori. Taichi took out his digivice and told Agumon to be ready to digivolve in case the Kuwagamon that came through was hostile. Hikari did the same with her digivice and Gatomon just as the Kuwagamon finally materialized in the center. The Kuwagamon glanced out all around him, "Where am I? What is this place? What happened to my dinner?"

"Kuwagamon!" Taichi called out to the champion level digimon. Kuwagamon spun around on his heels and looked down.

"Hello! As Chief of Digital World Relations, I'd like to welcome you to the Real World," Taichi explained.

Kuwagamon looked at the building around him and frowned, "The humans are a lot smaller than I expected. How do I get home?"

"DATA has a team coming to extract you back to the Digital World," Taichi explained, "We'll have you out of here in about an hour."

"That's too long," Kuwagamon growled, "I'm hungry now!"

Kuwagamon beat his giant wings and flew down the street angrily. Hikari lifted up her digivice and glanced over at Gatomon. Gatomon's body became illuminated with bright light as she sang, "Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

"Agumon! Digivolve to! Greymon!"

Greymon and Angewomon chased after the rogue Kuwagamon, who had punched a hole into a convenience store. He pulled out a stand full of fruit and emptied into his mouth. The agents all took chase after the digimon, while Iori called in the development, "Bravo-03 to dispatch, Kuwagamon is hungry and moving east. What's the ETA on the recovery team?"

"Bravo-03, the recovery team is still five minutes out," the dispatcher explained, "The director has ordered that you contain the situation as best as you can."

"We'll do our best," Iori said. Greymon had already grabbed Kuwagamon by the shoulder and thrown him onto the street, landing dangerously close to a mother and her two children. Angewomon grabbed the trio and lifted them to safety, just as Greymon body slammed the injured champion.

"Greymon! Don't hit anyone!" Taichi reprimanded his partner. Greymon apologized for his carelessness, only to be punched away by the Kuwagamon, "Get off of me! I'm trying to eat!"

"Kuwagamon! We have food at the DATA HQ! We can feed you there!" Iori shouted up at the champion. Kuwagamon ignored Iori's plea, too busy feeding himself with a fish cart that he pulled out of a nearby fish market. Angewomon drew a bow of light from her hand and took aim at the ravenous champion, "Celestial Arrow!"

The arrow hit its mark and Kuwagamon staggered back on to the street long enough for Greymon to tackle Kuwagamon to the ground. The two champions wrestled with each other for a while until Greymon opened his mouth and shouted, "Nova Flame!"

Kuwagamon howled in agony before passing out. Greymon climbed off him and de-digivolved back into Agumon. Angewomon circled overhead to make sure everyone was alright, just as two black helicopters bearing the DATA logo appeared overhead. Ropes rolled out of the helicopters and several uniformed DATA field agents rappelled down with a net. One of the agents saluted Hikari, Taichi, and Iori, "Are you the responding agents?"

"Yeah," Hikari nodded, "The digimon was just knocked out."

"We're going to anesthetize the digimon so that he doesn't wake up before we get to headquarters," the agent explained just as two men ran by carrying a giant needle between the two of them. They jabbed the Kuwagamon with the needle and injected a fluid into its arm. The other agents had already strapped the net around the Kuwagamon and prepared to connect the net to the ropes on the helicopters.

"Oh, we also have orders to take the Chief back to headquarters with us," the agent said, "The Director is upset that you decided to run off and he wants to see you."

"Ooh, he knows?" Taichi frowned. The agent nodded and took Taichi by the arm. As he started to drag him off, Taichi added, "You know, there's one thing about all this that the director didn't take into consideration."

"You can tell him back at HQ," the agent responded.

"Yeah, well," Taichi smiled cunningly, "The thing he forgot about was... RUN!"

Taichi took off in a sprint and Agumon chased after him. Hikari, Iori, and Angewomon chased after him, much to the annoyance of the agent who called after them to comeback. He took chase after them, but Taichi looked back and said, "You want to bring one of us back right? By the time you catch me, Kuwagamon will have woken up and escaped!"

Hikari heard the agent curse out loud and they continued down the street, around a corner, and came to a stop outside the broadcast station. They were all catching their breath by then except for Angewomon who had the luxury of flying there. She changed back into Gatomon and ran up to Taichi, "How did Yamaki know you got out of the hospital?"

"My bodyguards probably stopped making out long enough to check if I was still there," Taichi gasped, "I thought they'd be preoccupied little bit longer."

"Then why didn't an alert go out?" Iori asked between pants for breath.

"We just got over one crisis," Taichi pointed out, "Yamaki isn't going to want news to get out saying - 'Hey! We lost our Chief of Digital World Relations! Again! We suck at our job!' The Prime Minister is already giving him hell over all this."

"The Prime Minister?" Iori asked confusedly.

"D'you mind filling him in Kari?" Taichi gasped, "I'm not explaining it all again."

Hikari went and filled in Iori on the events. Sirens blared somewhere in the distance - a possible response to the bio emergence just a few blocks back. She filled Iori in on everything that happened as best as she could, although she didn't quite get it herself. Iori seemed to get a grasp on it right away, and blurted out, "But the Prime Minister isn't allowed to do that! We're not under him!"

"Wait, you understood that?" Hikari asked.

"I do want to be a lawyer," Iori answered sheepishly. Taichi patted him on the back, "You'll make a good one, Iori."

"Will they be alright, handling Kuwagamon by themselves?" Agumon asked.

"I"m trying to enjoy my first day off in over a year," Taichi groaned, "Can I not worry about those guys?"

"You're enjoying your day off by following her sister while she's working," Agumon pointed out flatly, which made the others laugh. Taichi couldn't help but laugh as well, until Yamaki's voice came out of Hikari's radio, "Yagami! Get your brother to come back to the hospital right now!"

"Don't answer that!" Taichi begged, "I don't want to go back to a hospital right now!"

"Pick up now Yagami! The switchboard says your radio is on!" Yamaki shouted, "And I can see the GPS on your D-Terminal. Don't make me send an assault team after you!"

"Just give him a few hours, Yamaki," Hikari said into the radio, "I'll bring him back before my shift is over."

"You have one hour," Yamaki said, "That's non-negotiable."

"Thanks, Director," Hikari smiled at Taichi who groaned, "Great, now I have to go back in an hour!"

"He's right Tai," Hikari said, "You should go back to the hospital. Be happy I got you an hour at least."

"Whatever," Taichi walked over to the nearest bench and sank down, massaging his temples. Gatomon went ahead and joined him on the bench, curling up into a ball. This prompted Hikari and Agumon to join them, but Iori had different plans in mind, "If it's alright with you guys, I'm just going to go back to patrol duty. One of us should at least keep an eye out."

"I'll catch up with you later then," Hikari called back to him as she joined her brother on the bench. He didn't look too happy about only getting another hour before he had to go back to the hospital, and Hikari didn't want him to spend it grumpy. Especially because of her.

"I'm sorry, Tai."

"I just wanted to spend a little more time with my little sister," Taichi frowned, "We haven't hung out in a year. Besides, I wanted to talk about Takato."

Hikari was surprised by that development. She didn't expect her brother to say anything about Takato. What worried her most about it, was that he might be planning to give her some kind 'The Birds and The Bees' talk. She did not want to have that conversation with him, of all things!

"Koushiro and Gennai filled me in on how you borrowed Lucemon's book yesterday," Taichi started, "Because you wanted to find a way to defeat Bagramon without losing Takato, again. I know this is going to be hard to hear, so I want you to promise to me you'll listen."

"Okay," Hikari agreed.

"I mean really listen, Kari," Taichi said, grabbing Hikari's shoulders and pulling her close so that their faces were centimeters apart. He had a serious look on his face. One Hikari knew meant that whatever he was going to say was really important. She nodded and listened carefully as he started.

"Kill Takato. Don't look surprised, okay. Just don't. You have to do it. I'm not trying to hurt you. That's the last thing I want to do. You have to kill him, for the sake of everything. I know it's not what you want to hear, but right now you're acting just like Black Wargreymon did. You're toying with the fabric of reality to save one life. It's cruel, but Takato's life isn't more important than the rest of the universe. Please understand that."

"I'm not killing him, Tai," Hikari said sternly, unable to believe what she was hearing. Taichi, the brother who never gave up and always looked for a better answer no matter what, was telling her to kill Takato. This wasn't the brother she knew and she feared she may not have rescued him at all. She worried that Taichi had been possessed again.

Her hand slowly moved her gun, but Taichi grabbed it and looked her square in the eyes, "I'm not possessed again. Lucemon is dead, and he'll stay that way if you kill Takato."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this... from you of all people!" Hikari frowned. She wrestling her hand out of her brothers and slid to the opposite side of the bench, away from Taichi. Taichi sighed and folded his hands, "I know how you feel about him, but you need to let that go."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you had to let go of someone you liked!" Hikari accused. Taichi shook his head in disagreement, "I did. Once. I got over it. You will too."

Hikari fell silent and looked at her brother. Agumon and Gatomon were watching them as well with interest. It didn't take Hikari long to figure out who he was talking about and dropped that part of the conversation. Taichi leaned back in the bench, "Doing what's right... what's best for other people often means doing what you don't want to do. If you want to do what's best for all worlds, kill Takato."

"I'm not killing him Tai," Hikari said quietly, "Because this is different. I lost him once and he came back. I won't lose him again."

"Kari, you're endangering seven billion people to keep Takato alive," Taichi said, "Can you live with that? Seven billion lives, all in danger because you won't kill one man."

"Please, don't put me in that position," Hikari warned.

"You're already in that position," Taichi frowned, looking at her with an expression filled with utter contempt, "I'm just reminding you that you're there. Using Lucemon's book isn't going to change that."

"It's easy for you to say Tai," Hikari said, "You kill him if you think it's so easy."

"Are you giving me permission?" Taichi asked. Hikari hit him in retaliation. She didn't want to kill him! Why didn't he understand? Why was he forcing this on her? She refused to let anything happen to him, "No! I'm not! I'm not letting you or anyone touch him! You talk about it like there's only two options! Well I've found a third and it saves everyone! I will make damn sure it works and I'll all responsibility for it."

Taichi's stared at her seriously, a stern frown on his face. Then his expression lightened into a smile and he started to laugh, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear Kari."

"What?"

"Sorry," Taichi jumped up off the bench, "I had to make sure you were committed to your crazy plan! I swear, sometimes I wonder how DATA manages with two of us running around!"

"What?" Hikari asked again, hoping her older brother would start talking sense sometime in the next ten seconds.

"Like I said, I had to be sure you were committed to this crazy plan of yours," Taichi said with an apologetic tone, "Because Yamaki sure as hell isn't. He only took Takato to see his parents to stop himself from trying to kill the guy. He knows it'd be cruel, even by his standards, to take away their son after they just got him back. He's been having second thoughts, though, especially with the Prime Minister breathing down his neck! That's why I had to make sure you, the one who wanted him alive no matter what, were behind this crazy plan one hundred percent. Now that I know that you are, I'm going to do everything I can to help you."

"You were testing me?" Hikari asked in disbelief.

"I'm pretty sure that's what I just said," Taichi nodded, "Yamaki is doing his best to please everyone. I just have to keep the Digital World and my sister happy. All I have to do is explain to the Prime Minister and to Yamaki - one simple thing!"

"And what's that?" Gatomon asked out loud, jumping into the conversation. Taichi smiled wickedly and said clearly, "Takato is a hero to the digimon of the Digital World! If anyone were to lay a finger on him, it would upset the peace talks I've been working on. I just need to remind them of this fact!"

Taichi then grabbed Hikari's radio off of her and pushed the talk, "Yamaki, it's Taichi! I'm ready to go back to the hospital, but I want to talk to you first. Can you come pick me up outside the Fuji TV Station?"

"Alpha-01, the Director left a while ago to come get you," the dispatcher responded, "Do you want me to connect you over to his private line?"

"I'll just wait, thanks," Taichi responded. He gave Hikari her radio back with a wide grin. His grin disappeared as soon as he saw Agents Kino and Shizu marching towards him with Yamaki right behind them. Agumon and Gatomon waved at them, but Yamaki pushed past them towards Taichi. The two of them stared off at each intensely - like two animals ready to tear each other's throats out.

"You've been pushing a lot of wrong buttons since the UN incident, Mr. Yagami," Yamaki said bitterly, "And I'm not in the mood for it right now."

"I think you will be, since I can help solve your Prime Minister," Taichi said back calmly. Yamaki raised an eyebrow in interest and motioned for Taichi to get into a blue van parked down the street. Taichi nodded and motioned for Agumon to come with. Hikari noticed the two DATA agents went red in the face as Taichi walked past. He smiled at both and patted them on the back, "About damn time."

As the van drove off, Hikari went back to her patrols for the rest of the night with Gatomon.

...

The next day, Hikari was called into DATA HQ even though she had patrols that day to meet with Yamaki in one of the conference rooms. Inside, she found her brother, Yamaki, Guilmon, Takato, his parents, the Prime Minister, and Lord HolyAngemon. Yamaki motioned for Hikari to take a seat at the table while he spun around, "Good, we can get started."

"Director Mitsuo, why are Matsuda and his parents here?" the Prime Minister demanded, "I thought I made it clear that I wanted him in a bodyba—"

"With all due respect, Mr. Prime Minister," Yamaki bowed in the formal, respectful manner, "I have just been informed by my Chief of Digital World Relations that, despite public opinion of Mr. Matsuda, he is considered a hero to the Digital World. If we lay a finger on him, we risk damaging our relations with the Digital World."

"What are you playing at, Yamaki?" the Prime Minister accused.

"Nothing," the Director smiled, turning towards the Matsuda family, "Which is where things get interesting. Because of the clear and present danger presented to Matsuda Takato and his family by past scapegoating, DATA has decided to deport them to the Digital World."

"Deport?"

"You're kicking us out!" Mr. Matsuda growled, slamming his fist against the table. Yamaki shook his head, "That's not what I'm saying. Deport is more of a... legal term. We're actually just relocating you to the Digital World until we're certain that things are safe."

"I'm not going anywhere," Mrs. Matsuda frowned, "It's bad enough that we had to change our names and move away from everyone we knew. Now that we have our son back, you expect us to do that all over again? I wouldn't care so much if it we stayed in Japan, but the Digital World?"

"I know it's unfortunate, Mrs. Matsuda," Taichi nodded sympathetically, "But you can't keep Takato locked up inside the bakery all day. And even if you do, someone is bound to notice that you have an extra occupant in your house. It's not fair to him or to you. In the Digital World, the three of you will practically be heroes! A few Digimon have already agreed to take care of you if you decide to go."

"You're asking us to give up our lives," Mr. Matsuda frowned.

"We're offering you a better one," Lord HolyAngemon offered comfortingly, putting a hand on Mr. Matsuda's shoulder, "I assure you that everything will be taken care of for you in the Digital World. You'll be free to go wherever you choose and live your lives however you please, with your real names."

"I don't want to go to the Digital World!"

"Mom, dad, you guys shouldn't have to go because of me," Takato said, "I'll go alone. At least that way you guys can have a normal life."

"Takato, we're not just going to let you leave!" Mrs. Matsuda argued. Takato hugged his mother and said, "I wouldn't expect you to. But I'm the reason you two had to go into hiding, and you've had to be extra careful since I came back. The least I can do is try to make it easier for you two to have normal lives."

"Takato! You're our son! We're not going to give you up again!" Mr. Matsuda said.

"Mom, Dad! You're in all this because of me!" Takato answered, "It was great seeing you again, but I can't stay upstairs all day. And if anyone finds out I'm there, it'll blow your cover and you'll have to change your identities again. Me going to the Digital World is the best solution for everyone."

"Excuse me," the Prime Minister chimed in, "Was I called in hear to listen to a cheap soap drama between two parents and their wanted criminal for a kid?"

"The Prime Minister has a point," Yamaki agreed, "We aren't discussing this. It's time for you three to leave."

"Arrangements have been made," Lord HolyAngemon said, "We're waiting to greet you on the other side."

Takato's parents looked back and forth at each other before for a moment before conceding to Yamaki. Yamaki notioned at Hikari, "Agent Yagami, you're orders are to escort the Matsuda Family to the Digital World and hand over custody of them to the current governing body."

"Yes sir," Hikari joined the Matsuda family to the side of the conference table. Taichi drew his digivice and pointed it at a computer monitor on the far side of the table. He glanced at Hikari once with a welcoming smile and shouted, "Digiport Open!"

There was a flash of light. Hikari, the Matsuda Family, and Lord HolyAngemon found themselves standing in the courtyard to Holy Angel Castle. There was a conglomeration of digimon gathered there, which burst into excited cheers upon seeing their arrival. Before them were three familiar digimon approaching to meet them. The lead digimon bowed to greet them, "It's good to see you, Matsuda, Takato."

...

**Author's Note:** That's all folks! My final update. I will be uploading an Author's Afterword for Oyabun in four weeks on Friday, August 24th to discuss its creation process and production. If you have any questions that you would like answered, ask in the reviews section and I will happily answer it there.

Before I go, I have a few things I want to mention: I've wanted to quit for a while, but I swore to myself that I would finish my other fanfic 'Oyabun' before I did. Now that I have, I would like to bow out with grace.

If you are attending Northern Illinois University and would like to chat, just PM me and we can meet face to face! Or add me on Facebook (see my profile), Twitter (leofib11235), the PlayStation Network (PSN ID leo112358). However, please let me know that you read these stories because I tend to ignore invites from random people I don't know. Until next time, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out for the last time.


	9. Final Draft without Completion

Disclaimer: Naruto is a comic by Masashi Kishomoto, published by Shonen Jump, and produced as an animated series by Viz Media. The Art of War is a widely published text originally written Sun Tzu. The Kuroihi Syndicate, the Enkou Brotherhood, the Kaki Alliance, the Shirotsuki Clan, Sora Keitaro, Sakurazaki Hana, Momiji Hashi, Dewaya Yahiko, Chairman Kuroihi Ryouke, Kuroihi Yamato, Kasen Eiji, Yagami Shinji, Utawa Miji, Doragon Gan, and all affiliated members are my intellectual properties.

**Takato's Light 2: Hikari's Hazard**

As you may know by now, I'm ending Takato's Light 2 and retiring from fanfiction indefinitely. I'm not going to waste words beyond it was fun while it lasted, but I need to focus on other things now. However, I don't like leaving readers hanging so I'll put up a summary of the parts I didn't cover in this story.

**The Rest of the Story**

Shortly after Hikari arrives in the Digital World with the Matsudas, she learns that Lord HolyAngemon has prepared a welcoming party for the new residents. The rest of the digidestined and the Tamers appear shorlty afterwards to meet them and the festivities commence. Hikari is embarrassed because she came to the celebration in her school uniform but Takato insists that she looks fine and asks her to dance. They dance to the tune of 'Eyes on Me' by Wang Fei, sharing a passionate kiss towards at the climax of the song. The kiss sparks the year of unreleased sexual tension the two have and they excuse themselves for a while to get it out of their system.

The next day, Hikari excuses herself from school to stay with Takato - although the two have difficulty looking each other in the eye because they're both embarrassed over what they let themselves do the previous evening. This is interrupted when they are called back to DATA HQ, where they find the complex in flames and Bagramon leaving with Lucemon's book. The digidestined and Tamers try to pursue the mega but are cut off by Astamon. THey defeat him but have lost sight of Bagramon. They learn that Legion has led several strategic attacks against major cities across the globe - Washington DC, Abu Dhabi, London, Beijing, Moscow, Cape Town, New Delhi, Manila, Rio de Janeiro, Jerusalem, Cairo, and the Vatican.

They learn that Bagramon's forces have begun building up around Tel Megiddo, along with a contingency of several mercenary groups and local insurgent fighters. DATA coordinates with several military forces to coordinate an attack in the Real World.

After a week of planning, soldiers from across the globe are air lifted into the area where they parachute their way down. Takato and Guilmon biomerge into Gallantmon, pushing themselves into the heart of Bagramon's forces. Hikari and Angewomon do their best to keep up but Gallantmon moves to far ahead for them to follow. Hikari is then reminded of her orders to open a gate for the DSDF to come through and assist allied forces. She meets up with Koushiro and Kabuterimon who are already setting up the gate, and covers them from a force of Devimon approaching them. The gate opens and the DSDF come through, overwhelming Bagramon's forces. A path opens up for Hikari and Angewomon to catch up to Gallantmon. They arrive in time to see Bagramon handing Gallantmon Lucemon's book before taking his own life. Gallantmon absorbs Bagramon's data and the color of his armor inverts.

Hikari and Angewomon are horrified by what they see and demand to know what he's doing. Gallantmon explains that he needed a body since she helped destroy his last one. Gallantmon does battle with Angewomon while Hikari goes into shock at the thought that Takato went insane from dying. Taichi and Yamato arrive with Omnimon who assist Angewomon in their battle. Taichi tries to talk sense into her sister who is almost completely catatonic at what is happening.

Gallantmon laughs at Hikari, explaining that Sussanoomon absorbed his data - trapping him inside Takato. However, Takato's body wasn't strong enough to handle Lucemon's consciousness so he put himself to sleep until Takato biomerged with Guilmon to create a stronger body. As Gallantmon, his consciousness was able to emerge and he became Lucemon again. Hikari is even more frightened to realize Lucemon is back but the shock is enough to knock sense back into her. Hikari vows to defeat Lucemon while saving Takato and Guilmon in the process.

Lucemon laughs, saying he'd like to see them try. The others arrives and an epic battle ensues, during which, Angewomon and MagnaAngemon are able to wrestle the book out of Lucemon's hands. Hikari and Koushiro breeze through the book looking for a way to exorcise Lucemon out of Gallantmon. The book reveals that Takato and Guilmon are still alive somewhere inside Gallantmon's body, Lucemon's will is just suppressing their consciousness. Hikari calls out to Gallantmon, pleading for Takato to take back his body. Lucemon feels himself losing control and regresses into Megidramon while an unconscious Takato appears before Hikari. Takato awakens and is informed about the circumstances. At this point, he uses his D-Arc to try and purify Guilmon. Megidramon flees and starts destroying all the digimon he can find - trying to absorb enough data to create a new body. Takato and Hikari work together with Angewomon to purify Guilmon's data and destroy Megidramon. While momentarily bodiless, Lucemon uses all the data he's absorbed to create a new body and he becomes Lucemon Shadow Lord Mode.

From here, Lucemon Shadow Lord Mode proclaims his intention to absorb reality and create a more perfect world. The world starts to fall apart around them and they commit themselves to stopping Lucemon there. Their work together with their digimon but are unable to lay a scratch on Lucemon. Hikari, Ken, and Koushiro consolidate Lucemon's book for some weakness he has in this form but find the book is now spouting unintelligible gibberish written in an insane language.

Takato's strange digivice which he acquired from Takuya starts to glow, and he is shown a flashback where the digidestined of the 'Frontier Era' defeated Lucemon Shadow Lord Mode by destroying a larvae hidden within his sphere. As the flashback ends, Takato and Guilmon are transformed into Sussanoomon before the digivice breaks. Sussanoomon reasons that this is the last time he'll be able to use this power and decides to make it count by destroying Lucemon forever. Sussanoomon uses some power to awaken Gatomon, Patamon, and Lopmon as Ophanimon, Seraphimon, and Cherubimon. The three celestial digimon try to hold Lucemon in place while Susanoomon breaks his way into Lucemon's sphere. Susanoomon destroys Lucemon Larvae Mode, and Shadow Lord Mode becomes unstable. The body starts to leak energy and explodes on a scale similar to the big bang. The Celestial Three try to contain the explosion with Susanoomon at the epicenter trying to absorb all the energy.

The energy is too much and Susanoomon knows he's going to perish. With that in mind, he uses some of his power to say good bye to Hikari one more time before the explosion recedes. Susanoomon is nowhere in sight. Hikari is devastated by the idea that she has lost Takato and Guilmon again despite her efforts to save them.

A few days later, Hikari takes notice of the fact that the world is completely different from how it was before. She later learns that they've completely forgotten about the attack by the D-Reaper, or Bagramon. DATA never existed and the Tamers have completely disappeared from the world. She visits Gennai and is told that with the worlds healing themselves, people will forget about their experiences with people from the other worlds. She asks if this means she will forget Takato, but Gennai expresses uncertainty since Takato never did make sense in the grand scheme of things. The story ends with Hikari going to class one day with Takeru and learning that there is a new student in her school named Matsuda Takato. The two are seated next to each other and exchange brief hellos.

And that's how the story would've gone. I apologize for not finishing it. If you want to know why, please read the afterword for my other fic Oyabun. So for one last time, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out!


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